The Mummy: Bleach Verse
by Shanda Bear
Summary: Basically the story of the mummy set with Bleach characters. I dont own the mummy or Bleach that belongs to the creators.
1. Chapter 1

The Mummy: Bleach Verse

Chapter 1: Introduction

A/N: This is a modern fanfic. I do not own Bleach, the characters or the Mummy. The characters for this story are as follows:

Ichigo Kurosaki- Rick O'Connell

Orihime Inoue- Evelyn Callahan

Renji Abari- Jonathon Callahan

Grimmjow- Beni

Sosuke Aizen- Imhotep

Yoruichi- Ardeth Bey

Mayuri Kurotsuki- Gad Hassen (the warden)

Tia Harrible- Anck-sun-namun

Three Americans- Ikakku, Yamichika, and Ganju Shiba

Uryu Ishida- Scholar

Junshiro Ukitake- Evelyns Boss

Kisuke Urahara- Rick's British Friend

Byakuya Kuchiki- Pharaoh

I probably forgot some characters so bare with me for a bit. OK on with the story! Enjoy!

 **Introduction**

 _1230 B.C._

 _Thebes, City of the living, crown jewel of Pharaoh Byakuya, Home of Sosuke Aizen, Pharaoh's High Priest, Keeper of the Dead, birthplace of Tia Harrible, Pharaoh's mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her._

 _Unknown to everyone they shared a love so powerful…that they were willing to risk life itself to be together._

 _One night, Pharaoh Byakuya strode into his drawing room to find Sosuke's priests clustered about looking rather guilty, "What are you doing here?" he muttered in Egyptian, eyeing them suspiciously._

 _He proceeded to the other room, pushing back the gold curtain that served as a divider, and found Tia there standing in a seductive pose beside the statue of a cat. She avoided his eyes as his gaze wandered to her upper arm…and glimpsed the smeared makeup on her skin._

" _Who has touched you?!" Byakuya snarled pointing at her arm._

 _Tia's eyes widened with horror and she glanced at the man responsible, who had come up behind the Pharaoh Byakuya turned and was stunned to see…"Sosuke"_

 _With out a word, the high priest grabbed the hilt of the King's sword and drew it into his own hand. Fearfully, Pharaoh stepped backward…only to be stabbed by his own mistress. Throwing caution to the wind, Sosuke and Tia brutally murdered Byakuya, while the other priests watched in horror._

 _Suddenly, the gigantic golden doors began to shake on their hinges and shouting echoed behind them._

" _Pharaoh's guards!" Sosuke murmured, guessing the men heard their King's agonized screaming and came running._

 _Tia turned her beauteous gaze on her beloved and cried, "you must go! Save yourself!"_

" _NO!"_

" _Only you can resurrect me!"_

 _The priest turned to look at her…right as the angry guards burst into the room. His loyal priests seized him from all angles, trying to rescue him from the advancing guards while he strove desperately to get back to the woman he loved._

" _I wont leave you!" Sosuke shouted. Striking out at his minions, "Get away from me!"_

 _Tia, however, merely stroked the air in front of his face, a sorrowful look in her eyes as he called, "you shall live again! I will resurrect you!"_

 _Finally, the bodyguards arrived on the scene and gaped in horror at their murdered ruler._

 _The pharaoh's former mistress stared at them coldly and hissed, "My body is no longer his temple!" before plunging the dagger into herself. From his hiding place, Sosuke watched his lover's shadow and cringed as he witnessed her take her own life._

 _In order to resurrect Tia, Sosuke and his priests broke into her crypt and stole her body. They raced across the desert taking Karin's body to Hamunaptra, City of the Dead…ancient burial site of the sons of Pharaohs…and the resting place for the wealth of Egypt._

 _For his love, Sosuke dared the Egyptian Gods anger by going deep into the City…where he took the black book of the dead from its holy resting place._

 _Tia's soul had been sent to the dark underworld…her vital organs removed and placed in five sacred canopic jars. As he read from the black book and the other priests chanted, the woman's soul slowly rose from the black abyss and floated back to her body. The corpse gasped as new breath entered, officially back to life…but the ritual was not yet complete. Sosuke raised the dagger to plunge into Tia, the last requirement of the spell…only to be grabbed by pharaoh's guards. They had followed him to Hamunaptra and put an end to the ritual before it could be completed; consequently, Tia's spirit rose out of her body once more and plunged into the darkness. Sosuke screamed in sorrow and anger as his love slipped from his grasp._

 _Afterwards, Sosuke and his followers were to be mummified alive (A/N: Im not going into detail on this) they had their tongues ripped out, their bodies wrapped in bandages while they were alive and placed into a sarcophagus filled with scarabs. This is known as the Hom Dai. The worst of all ancient curses, the recipient is to bear the agony of his wounds for all time; granting him eternal life._

 _When the ritual was complete, Sosuke was then buried beneath the statue of Anubis, the God of the Dead. He was kept watch over by the pharaoh's guards followed by their descendants the Maji. They could never allow him to be brought back…for he would arise a walking disease, a plague among mankind, an unholy flesh eater with the strength of the ages, power over the sands, and the glory of invincibility._

Hamunaptra

1923

Hamunaptra, the once gorgeous city of the dead now ruins. A remarkable piece of ancient history…now a war zone. The French Foreign Legion fought against the marauding desert nomads but their small forces were picked off one by one, by an army of gun wielding foes.

The Maji stood on a near by sand dune and watched with solemn faces as the forces clashed, knowing that the forces were completely oblivious to the evil that lies beneath the sand.

The Legion members Ichigo Kurosaki and Grimmjow, gasped in shock when the captain suddenly mounted his horse and rode off.

"You just got promoted." Said Grimmjow, a blue haired guy said in a deep voice.

Ichigo, a handsome man with short orange hair and brown eyes. He nodded and he readied his weapon, "Prenez vos positions."

The enemy drew nearer and nearer screaming and yelling.

"Steady!" Ichigo shouted then he side glanced at Grimmjow, "you're with me on this one right?"

The blue haired man grinned and said, "Oh…your strength gives me strength."

That was what he said…until he turned around and saw the army growing ever closer. Grimmjow stared for a moment, and then took off after the Captain, shouting, "Wait for me!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes "What a dumbass." Not the slightest bit surprised by his partner's actions. He then gazed back at the targets. The American adventurer waited until the very last second before shouting at his men to fire.

The guns went off, taking out several enemies on the front line. Unfortunately, "several" wasn't enough, and the Foreign Legion soldiers quickly began to either fall or desert the battle. It was not long before the remaining men were forced to retreat. Ichigo was standing in the midst of battle, shooting down enemy forces and holding extra bullets in his teeth. When his shotgun ran out of ammo, he was forced to resort to his twin pistols, firing at every close range enemy in sight.

Finally, Ichigo realized it was futile to continue fighting, so he ran. He caught sight of his partner and gestured toward the open entrance to an ancient temple.

"RUN, GRIMMJOW, RUN! GET INSIDE!"

Grimmjow didn't have to be told twice as he ran into the ruins…and began to pull the stone doors closed behind him.

"HEY!" The orange haired man yelled "Don't you close that door! Don't you close that-"

The door slid shut, leaving Ichigo to fend for himself. Quickly adjusting to the situation he took off through the temple sight, dodging bullets and leaping over fallen pillars. In his desperate flight, Ichigo dropped his gun and due to the barrage of bullets that followed when he attempted to retrieve it, was forced to abandon the firearm. The Foreign member bounded through the sand…but it was futile die to the enemies' cutting off any chance of escape.

They chased the young man until his path was blocked and there was nowhere else to flee. Defeated, Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut and waited for his execution…but the shots never came. Instead he heard the men yelling in fear, their horse's whining accordingly, and the sound of retreating hooves.

Ichigo's brown eyes fluttered open and he stared at the terrified fleeing men in confusion. He gasped when he heard voices whispering in the wind and turned around to see a large statue of Anubis, Egyptian God of the Dead. Suddenly, as if possessed by some supernatural force, the sand surrounding the soldier began to spring up from the ground. Ichigo scrambled to his feet and took off as fast as he could out of the cursed City. If he has stayed, he would have seen that the ghostly sand…had morphed into an impression of Sosuke's face.

Watching the retreating nomads, Yoruichi, leader of the Maji, muttered, "The creature remains undiscovered."

"And what of that one?" asked one of the other guardians, gesturing to Ichigo, who was running across the desert. "Should we kill him?"

'No…" Yoruichi replied cryptically, "The desert will kill him."

Three years later, In the bustling City of Cairo, a young orange-red haired woman named Orihime Inoue, librarian of the Cairo Museum was perching precariously on a tall ladder.

"Sacred Stones…" She murmured, holding a pile of books in her slender arms and attempting to reshelf them. "Sculpture and Aesthetics…Socrates, Seth, Volume one, Volume two and Volume three…and T-" She stopped, soft brown eyes staring in perplexity at the last book in her grasp. "Tuthmosis? What are you doing here? T…where are the T's…?"

Orihime looked at the bookshelf directly across from her, finally locating the "T" section. Not wanting to waste time climbing down and repositioning the ladder, the young women attempted to reach across and put the book in its proper place…but her arm wouldn't reach. She leaned further and further until…

"Eeek!" Orihime found herself balancing on the two legs of the ladder, staggering dangerously as if she were on stilts. "Oh…help." The librarian murmured.

She screamed as the ladder fell forward and into the bookshelf, knocking it into another…and so the domino effect began, not stopping until every single shelf in the library had been toppled over.

The guilty woman stood up, uninjured…but in deep trouble. "Whoops…"

To make matters worse, her boss, Junishiro arrived on the scene.

"What-How c-I-How-Look at this!" the man stuttered, eyes bugging, "Sons of the Pharaohs! Give me frogs, flies locusts! Anything but you! Compared to you the other plagues were a joy!"

Orihime hung her head shamefully. "I am so very sorry. It was an accident"

Junishiro scowled and replied. "My dear, when Ramses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You…are a CATASTROPHE! Look at my library! Why..why do I put up with you?"

The woman shot her boss a look and said "W-well you put up with me because I can read and write ancient Egyptian…and I can decifer hieroglyphics and hieratic…and well…" her eyes lit up with indignation. "I am the only one within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalog this library! That's why!"

"I put up with you because your father and mother were our finest patrons!" Junishiro snapped. "That's why! Now I don't care how you do it. I don't care how long it takes…straighten up this mess!"

With that, the livid scholar stormed off, and Orihime was about to begin the arduous task when a noise from the exhibit in the back room caught her attention. She grabbed a torch off the wall and began to search the artifact-filled room. The girl approached an open casket…and shrieked when the mummy inside sat up straight.

Laughing, Orihime's brother, a red-haired man with tattoos named Renji, moved the mummy out of his lap.

"Have you no respect for the dead?" Orihime hissed.

" Tch, Of course I do!" Renji grinned. "But hell sometimes, I'd kinda like to join them."

Tucking the ancient corpse back into its place, the librarian muttered, "Well I wish you would do it before you ruin my career like you ruined yours, now get out!"

The older sibling chuckled and climbed out of the casket, saying, " Tch, my dear, sweet baby sister…I'll have you know that at this precise fucking moment my career is on a high note." _**(A/N:**_ _ **Renji is a little out of character in this story but also has a bold vocabulary)**_

"High Note? HA! Renji, please, I'm really not in the mood for you. I've just made a bit of a mess in the library and the Bembridge Scholars have rejected my application again. They say I don't have enough experience in the field…"

Renji's goofy expression softened as he glimpsed his little sisters distress. He went to her and took her hands in his. "You'll always have me, sis."

He grinned, leaning his forehead affectionately against her as she began to giggle. "Besides…I have just the thing to cheer you up."

Orihime sighed and muttered, "Oh, no, Renji not another worthless trinket. If I have to take one more piece of junk to the curator to try and…sell for you.."

The young woman's brown orbs widened when Renji presented her with a small, circular metal device. "Where did you get this?"

Renji shrugged. "Hmph, On a dig down in Thebes. My whole life I've never found anything, Ori. Please tell me I found something."

Orihime ran her skilled fingers along the surface of the artifact…until it opened to reveal a folded piece of paper hidden within.

"Renji…" She began, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I think…you found something.

"You see the cartouche there?" Orihime pointed out the drawing to Junishiro. "It's the official seal of Pharaoh Byakuya, I'm sure of it."

"Perhaps…" Junishiro began only to be interrupted by Renji.

"First of all, who was Byakuya and was he rich?"

"He was the second pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty and said to be the wealthiest one of them all."

"Good. I like this guy"

The orange red haired girl continued, "I've already dated the map and it appears to be almost three thousand years old. And if you look at the hieratic just there…well…its Hamunaptra."

"Dear, God, don't be ridiculous," Junishiro scoffed. "We're scholars not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra's a myth told by ancient Arab story tellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists."

Orihime went on. "I know all the blanther about the City being protected by the curse of a mummy…but my research has led me to believe that the City itself may have actually existed."

"Are we talking about THE fucking Hamunaptra?" Renji inquired.

"Yes, The City of the Dead, where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden all the wealth of Egypt. Supposedly, the Pharaoh could, at will, order the entire necropolis to sink into the sand taking the treasure with it."

Holding the map a little too close to a candle, Junishiro added, "Yes…its all just fairy tales and hocus-Oh! Good gracious!" The flame from the candle lit the parchment ablaze.

The siblings leaped on the map and desperately tried to put the fire out…but were too late.

"You've burnt it!" The Red headed man whined. "You've burnt off the part about the lost city!"

"It was for the best," Junishiro replied cryptically. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No ones ever found it…most have never returned."

The siblings were not going to give up so easily, however, and soon made their way to the Cairo Prison.

"Come, step over the threshold!" the warden, Jiraiya, beckoned them. "Welcome to the Cairo Prison, my humble home."

Glancing around at the countless men in chains and containment, Orihime hissed, "I thought you told me that you got it at a dig in Thebes."

"Well…" Renji began sheepishly. "I was mistaken.'

"You lied."

"I lie to everyone. What makes you so special?"

"I am your sister!"

"That just makes you more gullible."

Orihime rolled her eyes. "You stole it from a drunk at a local casbah."

"Picked his pocket actually."

The two were let to an outdoor cell with a door leading to an inner chamber and the pinkette inquired, "What exactly is this man in prison for?"

"This I do not know," Mayuri admitted. "But when I heard you were coming I asked him that myself."

"And?"

"He said he was just looking for a good time."

Just then the door inside the cage burst open and several guards restraining a prisoner burst out. He was a young man in his twenties with a mess of tangled orange colored hair and a thin but muscled, dirty body. He growled as the guards struck him with the clubs and dragged him over to the bars."

"This is the man you stole it from?" Orihime demanded to know.

"Yes exactly." Her brother replied.

"Who are you?" The prisoner asked Ichigo. His brown eyes then wandered to Orihime and he added, "and who's the broad?"

"Broad?"

Before his sister could go off on a tangent, Renji said, "I'm a local guy and this is my sister Orihime."

"Ask him about the box." Orihime murmured as Mayuri's attention was caught by something else, "Uh, hello excuse me…"

The unruly man turned to look at her with an annoyed look.

"We found your puzzle box and we were hoping you could tell us more about it."

"No, hn."

"…No?"

"You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

'How did you-"

"Pft. Because that's where I was when I found it."

Renji smirked and moved closer to the bars. "How do we know this isn't a load of chicken scratch?"

The prisoner looked at him and asked, "Do I know you?"

"No…" the red head replied uncertainly.

In answer to this, the orange haired man punched Renji in the nose, resulting in the guards hitting him again with their clubs.

Stepping over her brother, Orihime moved next to the cage and asked "you were actually at Hamunaptra?"

"Heh, yea I was there."

"You swear?"

"Every word"

The orange red haird girls next question came out in a kind of nervous stammer. "C-could you tell me how to get there?"

The prisoner cocked an orange eyebrow. "You wanna know?"

'Well…yes?"

"You really wanna know?" he moved closer to the bars.

The young woman was getting excited now as she murmured, "Yes! Yes!"

The brown eyed man motioned for her to lean closer…then grabbed her chin, crushing his lips to hers in a rough kiss.

"Then get me the hell out of here!" he ordered against her mouth.

Orihime stared at the prisoner in shock as the guards struck him, dragging him back towards the inner part of the prison.

"Do it lady!" he shouted.

Still in shock from the kiss, the auburn eyed beauty looked at Mayuri and demanded, "Where are they taking him?"

"To be hanged." The warden smirked. "Apparently, he had a very good time."

 **A/N: Wow..that was long. I hope you enojoyed it. Read and Review please. Please tell me how I did on my first ever Bleach Fanfic. Please keep negative comments to yourself**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Maji Attack

Orihime watched in horror as the guards dragged the only man who could lead them to Hamunaptra to the gallows. The other prisoners of the Cairo Jail watched from their cells, cheering and shouting for the execution to commence.

Orihime looked at the warden sitting next to her and said, "I will give you one hundred pounds to save this mans life."

Mayuri smirked, "Madame, I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hanged."

The Orangette glanced at the prisoner growing ever closer to his death, "Two hundred pounds!" she cried frantically. "Oh…three hundred pounds!"

Down on the platform, one of the guards fastened the rope around the unruly-haired man's neck, making him grunt uncomfortably.

"Any last requests, pig?"

"Yeah, loosen the knot and let me go you bastard."Ichigo growled.

None too bright, the prison worker turned his gaze to Mayuri and called out, inquiring whether or not they were supposed to honor the man's request.

"Dumbass!" Mayuri shouted. "Of course we don't let him go!

Ichigo rolled his brown eyes, earning a smack in the head from the dim-witted guard.

"Five hundred pounds!" Orihime continued her bargaining.

Mayuri signaled to the executioners to wait a moment, then looked at the Orange-red haired woman, saying, "And what else?"

He reached out and put his hand on Orihime's thigh. "I am a very lonely man."

The young women scowled and smacked his hand with the book she was holding, resulting in several laughs from the surrounding prisoners.

The warden stood up and shouted at the guards to pull the lever.

"NO!" Orihime screamed as the board beneath Ichigo's feet slid back, dropping him and beginning his hanging.

He gagged and kicked his legs about, striving to free himself.

Mayuri laughed and announced, "His neck did not break! Now we must watch him strangle to death!"

The brown-eyed beauty breathed a sigh of slight relief, realizing she still had a little time.

"He knows the location of Hamunaptra." She reasoned.

The warden stared at her in shock for a moment before saying, "You lie!"

"I would never!"

Mayuri stared at Ichigo, who was beginning to look a little blue. "Are you telling me that this godless son of a pig knows where to find the City of the Dead?"

"Yes!"

"Truly?"

"Yes!" Orihime cried triumphantly, "And if you cut him down we will give you…" she glanced at her suffocating potential guide, wondering how much they could afford. "…ten percent."

"Fifty percent," Mayuri countered

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Thirty."

The warden thought for a moment and for lack of another number said, "Twenty Five!"

"Ha!" Orihime grinned. "Deal!"

Mayuri blinked and groaned in frustration when he realized his own stupidity. Nevertheless, he glanced down at the gallows and shouted, "Cut him down!"

The executioner swung his scabbard slicing through the rope and freeing its victim, Ichigo collapsed on the ground, coughing and gasping for air. With some difficulty, due to his bound hands he rolled over on his side…and glimpsed Miss Orihime Inoue, smiling at him triumphantly.

Afterwards, the two Inoue siblings found themselves standing at Giza Port with their luggage, waiting for their new guide.

"Do you really think he's gonna show up?" Orihime asked.

Renji nodded as he scratched the back of his head. "He may be a cowboy but I know his breed. His word is his word."

The Orange-red haired woman huffed and replied, "Well I think he's a filthy, rude, complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit."

"Anyone I know?"

The two turned to see…a completely cleaned up Ichigo Kurosaki. He had taken a shower and was completely free of dirt and dried blood, his formerly tangled hair was now brushed and styled. A clean white shirt with a black jacket and dark pants replaced his dirty tunic. In a word he was…handsome.

"Oh…" Orihime gasped, hypnotized by the young man's brown eyes. "Um…Hello."

Renji thumped their new companion on the chest and exclaimed. "Gorgeous day for the start of an adventure, eh Kurosaki?"

"Yeah..tch." Ichigo cocked an eyebrow and felt within his chest pocket, ensuring that his wallet was still there.

Renji laughed. "Oh, no, no, I'd never steal from a partner…partner."

"Oh, that reminds me…no hard feelings about the…" The orange haired man punched the air, demonstrating his previous act of slugging Renji.

The red haired boy waved a dismissive hand and replied, "Oh,no, happens all the time."

"Mr. Kurosaki…" Sakura began uncertainly. "Can you look me in the eye and guarentee that this isn't some kind of flimflam? Because if it is, Im warning you-"

"Your warning me? Tch." Ichigo raised his eyebrows. "Lady, let me put it this way. My whole garrison believed in this so muchthat without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that City. And when we got there, all we found…was sand and blood."

The orange-red haired woman gazed at him thoughtfully as he leaned down, grabbed her bags and began hauling them to the ferry.

Once he was out of earshot, Renji muttered, "Yes…you were right…filthy, rude, complete scoundrel…nothing to like there at all…jackass."

The brown-eyed beauty looked over her shoulder and was about to say something when another familiar face appeared.

"Bright morning to all," Mayuri greeted, dragging his own luggage behind him.

Orihime groaned saying, "oh, no…what are you doing here?"

"I am here to protect my investment thank you very much."

The ferry cruised over the evening Nile water, fuly visible beneath the bright, silvery moon. This made it all the more easy…for the Maji to follow close behind on their soundless watercraft.

Aboard the ferry, a rambunctious group of treasure hunters were having a blast playing poker and drinking.

"Quit sleeping and cut the deck, Yamichika." Exclaimed Ikakku, a bald headed man.

Yamichika,a man with short black hair and colorful feathers on his right eyelash and eyebrow, yawned and replied. "Cutting the deck will be too much."

Ichigo stepped out of a ship cabin and Renji called out to him, "Hey, Kurosaki! Sit down we could use another player."

The Orange haired man shook his head, "I only gamble with my life never my money."

"Never?" inquired Genju, a pale skinned muscled, black haired man. "What if I was to bet you five-hundred dollars we get to Hamunaptra before you?"

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?"

"We sure are."

"And who says we are?" Ichigo asked, squinting his onyx eyes suspiciously.

All the guys pointed at Renji. "He does."

Quivering under the soldiers unwavering glare, the red haired man chuckled nervously and said, "H-How about it?"

"Is it a bet?" Ganju grinned.

Being partial to a little competition, Ichigo gave a smirk and replaced, "All right, your on."

"And what makes you so confident, sir?" said a thickly voice, belonging to a short black haired man that wore a set of square rimmed glasses upon his nose named Uryu Ishida.

"What makes you?" Ichigo shot back knowing all too well that this man had to be the brains in charge of Ikakku, Yumichika and Ganju.

Ikakku grinned and announced, "we've got a man who's actually been there."

Not one to be outdone, Renji began. "Oh, what a coincidence because Kurosaki-"

Said guide threw his thick, leather bag over his shoulder. Purposefully hitting Renji in the process.

Catching the hint, the Inoue sibling stammered out. "Is it-is it my play? I thought…"

"Gentlemen," Ichigo smirked placing a hand on the red haired man's shoulder, "we've got a wager." He then painfully squeezed his loudmouth companion's shoulder and growled, "Goodnight, Renji."

"G-Goodnight." Renji grimaced.

At the more peaceful side of the ship, Orihime was sitting in a cushy chair, completely absorbed in a book and enjoying the night air. She yelped in fright when a bag was suddenly thrown on the table in front of her.

"Sorry," Ichigo lamented. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Orihime smirked and replied, "The only thing that scares me, Mr. Kurosaki, is your lack of manners."

Ichigo studied her for a moment before cocking an eyebrow and murmuring, "still angry about that kiss, huh?"

Her breath caught in her throat and she searched her brain for a comeback, "well if you call THAT a kiss."

The orange haired man smirked and rolled open his leather bag, revealing countless guns, knives, and ammunition.

"Umm…" Orihime began, gulping at the plethora of weapons, "Did I miss something? Are we…are we going into battle?"

"Lady, there's something out there," Ichigo replied cryptically, loading one of his pistols. "Something underneath that sand."

"Yes, well…I'm hoping to find a certain artifact. A book actually. My brother thinks there's treasure." She began absentmindedly playing with a hook-like device in the weapon satchel.

"In a word…evil. Some people believe that Hamunaptra is cursed."

"Oh, I don't believe in fairy tales and hocus pocus, Mr. Kurosaki," Orihime replied as Ichigo reached over and took the hook away from her. "…but I do believe that one of the most famous books in history is buried down their. The book of Amun-Ra. It contains within it all the secret incantaions of the old kingdom. Its what first interested me as a child. Its why I came here-sort of a lifes pursuit."

The adventurer chuckled. "And the fact that they say its made of pure gold makes no never mind to you? Right?"

"You know your history." The young woman beamed.

"I know my treasure."

Orihime smiled for a moment, then bit her lip in contemplation. "By the way…why did you kiss me?"

Ichigo chuckled, saying, "I was about to be hanged by the neck. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Appalled, the young woman scowled and slammed her book shut, storming back to her cabin.

"What?" Ichigo blinked, genuinely clueless. "What did I say?"

His attention was then caught by a yelp coming from the corner of the deck. The soldier glanced at the wall…and glimpsed a shadow he knew all too well. Ichigo crept up…and seized Grimmjow by the collar, slamming him against the wall.

"Well Son of a bitch, my good friend, you're alive!" Grimmjow squeaked nervously, "I was so very worried."

Ichigo smirked. "Well if it aint my little buddy Grimmjow. I think I'll kill you."

He pulled out his pistol as the blue haired man cried, "Think of my children!"

"You don't have any children!"

"Someday I might."

"Shut up!" the brown-eyed man hissed, "So you're the one leading those idiots. I might have known so what's the scam? You take them out into the middle of the desert and then you leave them to rot?"

"Unfortunately, no." Grimmjow replied truthfully. "Those idiots are smart. They pay me only half now and half when I get them back to Cairo. So this time I must go all the way."

"Them's the breaks, huh?" Ichigo finally released his former partner.

Grimmjow straightened his shirt and muttered, "you've never believed in Hamunaptra, Kurosaki. Why are you going back?"

The two turned when they heard a camel grunting in the stable section of the ferry. Orihime stood by the creature, cooing and gently stroking its head.

"You see that girl?" Ichigo pointed to her. "She saved my neck."

"You always did have more brawn then brains." The ex-soldier smirked he laughed scornfully and the orange-haired man joined him. Clapping him on the shoulder and leading him away from the wall, until…"Goodbye, Grimmjow," he threw him over the side of the ship.

Ichigo went back to preparing his fire arms…and froze when he noticed a trail of wet footprints leading back to the cabins. Grimmjow was still coughing and sputtering in the ocean, so who…?

Dressed in a spaghetti strap nightgown, Orihime wandered around her bedroom, reading a book to herself as she went…though she found she was having trouble concentrating.

"George Bembridge…in eighteen-sixty…hmmm…in 1865was…was…"

Finally, the orange haired woman threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed. "Oh, for heaven's sake, girl, it wasn't THAT good of a kiss anyway!"

She would never admit that it actually was. The young women went to the dresser and began running a brush through her Orange red hair. Orihime sighed as a book fell on the floor and reached down to pick it up…but when she got to her feet again. She shrieked in horror…for their was a man clad in black, standing in her room.

He seized her by the throat and held a hooked knife to her face, growling, "Where is the map?"

Terrified, the orange red haired woman nodded her head in the parchments direction, "Its th…there…"

"And the key?"

Her heart lurched with fright and confusion as she stuttered, The k-key? W-what key?"

"Orihime!" Ichigo burst through the door, pointing twin pistols, at the intruder who held the girl against him as a shield.

The cabin window opened and the soldier quickly shot at the man behind it, before knocking over a lantern and setting the rooms couch on fire. Getting the idea, Orihime grabbed a candle off her dresser and drove it into her attackers face, making him scream and let her go. Shielding the orange haired woman from harm, Ichigo stood between her and the window shooting at the enemies before racing out the door.

"The map! I forgot the map!" Orihime shrieked and tried to re-enter the room.

Her guide, however, grabbed her arm and said, "Relax. Im the map. Its all in my head."

"Oh, THAT'S comforting…"

"ORIHIME!" Renji raced to her bedroom, knocking the already burned Maji into the burning couch. He then grabbed the metal object he stole from Ichigo and took off down the ship.

People began screaming and grabbing the animals from the stables, leaping off the ferry as the Maji began to torch it.

Racing out of the cabin section Ichigo tossed Orihime his weapon bag around hid behind a wall so that he could snipe at the mysterious enemies. He fired off a few shots, then hid behind his barricade again reloading the pistols. Bullets began shooting through the wall, growing nearer to the two people behind it until…Orihime pulled Ichigo aside just as a bullet came through right where his head had been. The adventurer paled and stared at the girl who'd just saved his life for the second time, then resumed firing.

When the Maji in the area had mostly been defeated, Ichigo looked at Orihime and asked "can you swim?"

"Of course I can swim. If the occasion calls for it."

"Trust me," Ichigo said as he picked the orange red-haired woman up bridal-style. "It calls for it." He then unceremoniously threw her off the boat…before being attacked.

The ebony clad man tried to strangle the brown-eyed warrior, but Ichigo head-butted him and threw him into a blazing room.

"Kurosaki! Kurosaki!" Mayuri came running to him "What are we going to do?"

Taking great amusement in the man's stupidity, Ichigo replied, "Wait here! I'll get help!" before leaping off the burning ferry.

The warden blinked then groaned and mimicked his former prisoner's actions.

Renji finally managed to scramble onto the deck…then stared in perplexity at the sight before him. Ganju, Ikakku, and Yumachika were laughing and having a great time, shooting at the enemy as if it were a game.

"Jackasses…" The red head muttered, then yelped as a Maji leaped at him. Ganju laughed and shot him down while Renji sweat dropped, saying. "Good show guys! And did I panic? I think not!"

Just then, flames leaped out at the Inoue brother and he screamed in terror, plummeting into the ocean with the others.

Exhausted, the passengers of the burning ferry trudged out of the Nile, dragging horses, camels, and soaked luggage with them.

"This is a messed up country." Ikakku muttered while Yumichika wrung out his clothes.

"We've lost everything!" Orihime exclaimed, tripping in her drenched nightdress. "All the tools, All the equipment…all my clothes."

"Hey Kurosaki!" Grimmjow called, grinning scornfully. "It looks to me like I've got all the horses!"

Ichigo smirked and turned around. "Hey Grimmjow! It looks to me like your on the wrong side of the river!"

The blue-haired man blinked…then kicked the water in frustration when he realized his adversary was right.

Fortunately, everyone had survived the ship attack…now they just had to make it to Hamunaptra.

 **A/N: Well there was Chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed it!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Arrival at Hamunaptra

Having no luggage or form of transportation, the group of adventures was inclined to visit a caravan on their way to Hamunaptra. It was a small temporary village, but nonetheless bustling people of all ages and each traveler quickly got separated from the other. Mayuri was being chased out of a tent by a group of angry women all shouting in Arabic, while Renji haggled with a seller of camels.

"I only want four! Four!" he shouted, "I only want four, not a whole freaking heard!"

The seller, however, insisted that it was either all or none.

"Kurosaki, can you believe this guy?" the red head growled.

Irritated, Ichigo put his hands on his hips and snapped. "Just pay the man, moron!"

"Oh for heavens sake!"

Ichigo grudgingly pulled out a handful of bills, muttering, "can't believe the price of these fleabags…"

Taking two of the camels' reigns, the orange-haired guide smirked and replied, "You probably could have gotten them for free. All you had to do was give him to your sister."

"Yeah…tempting aint it?"

Jut then, Orihime appeared among a group of cooing women and Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks. She was dressed in a black dress with gauzy dark sleeves and a front decorated with silver sequins. A light ebony veil encrusted with silver beads rested a top her orange red hair and just above her nose, making her soft brown eyes sparkled in the desert sun.

Taking in the young woman's beauty, Ichigo thought back to her brother's last comment about her being "tempting" and murmured, "awfully…"

After the supplies had been sufficiently replaced, the travelers set off into the desert with their "herd" of dromedaries.

"Never did like camels," Renji complained. "They smell, they bite, they spit…"

On cue, Mayuri spat grossily into the sand.

"Oh, I think they are adorable!" Orihime exclaimed, scratching her camels head affectionately.

She glanced back at the warden, laughing as he began to sing in Arabic.

They rode for many arduous, heat-exhausting miles and kept going, even when the sin had completely set. Dozing off, Orihime's body began to lean over until her head was resting on the shoulder of her nearest companion-Ichigo. He smiled and gently steadied the orange red haired woman into an upright position so she would not fall off her camel. Shushing his own creature as it began to grunt noisily.

Mayuri had also fallen asleep and was snoring obnoxiously, so Renji hit him in the chest with his riding whip, waking him up instantly.

Ichigo stared at them in amusement, then gasped when horse whines sounded in the distance. He turned to see…the Maji watched him from a distant sand dune.

"This one is strong." Yoruichi murmured, as the small caravan proceeded.

At dawn, the next morning, Ichigo and the others soon met up with Grimmjow and his group.

"Hello, my friend," the spectacled man greeted, flashing a smile. Both teams line up in a neat row, watching, waiting for…something to happen on the desert horizon.

"What the heck are we doing?" Ganju demanded to know.

"Patience, my good friend patience," was Grimmjow's answer.

Ganju continued, "Remember our bet Kurosaki. First one to the city gets five hundred bucks."

Glancing to their guide, Ikakku added, "one hundred of those bucks is yours if you help us win that bet,"

"Oh, my pleasure." Grimmjow then turned to his ex-partner and snickered, "Hey Kurosaki…nice camel."

The orange-haired soldier simply smirked and rubbed his dromedary's head. He then straightened up and muttered to his party. "Get ready for it."

"For what?" Orihime cocked her head.

"We're about to be shown the way."

All eyes were fixed on the desert as the sun slowly rose, painting the sky blood red…and as it the desert itself were merely an illusion, the blurry image of an ancient city materialized in the sand.

"Will you look at that…" Ganju breathed.

"Whoa…" Ikakku gasped, "Can you believe it?"

Yumachika smiled. "Hamunaptra."

Ichigo, however, seemed slightly apprehensive, saying, "Here we go again…"

Finally, when the necropolis was clearly visible all riders let out a collective, 'hyah!" and the race to Hamunaptra began. Ichigo rode up beside Grimmjow's horse, urging his grunting camel onward. Not to be outdone, the silver-haired man grinned nastily and began hitting his rival with his riding whip.

"OW!" the soldier yelped, shielding his head from the blows with a stinging arm. Fed up, Ichigo grabbed the man's collar and said, "So long Grimmjow." Before throwing him off his horse and onto the ground.

"It serves you right!" Orihime grinned at the nearly trampled man. She urged her camel onward, catching up with Ichigo, and eventually passing him all together as her ride suddenly gained a burst of speed.

"Whoo-hoo!" Renji punched the air in triumph. "Go, Orihime. Go!"

And with that, the small group of heroes on their spitting, smelly camels, utran the group of scoundrels with their majestic horses.

The two groups set up camp at the ruins and each person began tackling their own tasks. Unfortunately, the "gamblers" had a team of Arabic workers with them doing all the hard labor such as moving stones and digging through the sand.

Noticing tat the opposing team was off in their own faraway corner of the City, Ganju glanced at Uryu and asked, "Do they know something we don't?"

The scholar smirked and replied, "They are lead by a woman. What does a women know?"

Climbing around an obstacle of stones, Orihime pointed to a nearby looming monument and explained, "That's the statue of Anubis. Its legs go deep underground. According to Bembridge Scholars that's where we will find the secret compartment containing the book of Amun-Ra"

The Orange red haired woman glanced at her brother fiddling with an ancient Egyptian form of lighting and sighed, "Renji, your ment to CATCH the sun with that."

Ichigo approached her with a curious expression, "So…what are all these old mirrors for?"

"Ancient mirrors. Its an Ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see."

Ichigo nodded and shifted about in a nervous, awkward manner. He finally held out a leather satchel and stammered, "Uh…h-here this is for…uh…you."

The brown-eyed beauty studied the gift with a perplexed expression as the soldier continued," Go ahead. It's a gift from out gambling brethren…I t-thought you might like it-you might NEED it when your uh…yeah." He started to walk away and was met by Mayuri who was watching his nervous antics curiously, "What are you looking at?"

The warden threw his hands up in defense.

Orihime watched her brown-eyed companion for a moment before finally unfurling the gift he had given her. He face lit up in delight when she beheld on amazing assortment of professional archeological digging tools.

Ichigo had just enough time to glimpse the girl's smile, before beaming himself and swinging by a rope down into the tomb.

"We're standing in a room that no one's entered in over three thousand years!" Orihime gasped once they were all inside the underground temple.

Renji wretched, "What is that god-awful smell?" His question was answered when he noticed Mayuri standing beside him.

The brown-eyed young woman shifted one of the mirrors in the room, "and then there was light," she announced as the light reflected off each of the mirrors, illuminating the entire room.

"Hey…that is a neat trick" Ichigo grinned.

Suddenly Orihime gasped, saying, "Oh my God…it's a sah-net jer…"

"Huh?"

"A preparation room for entering the afterlife."

"The mummies my friend," Renji smiled, "this is where they made the mummies."

The group made their way down the hall and froze when they heard loud skittering through the walls.

"What the-"

"What was that?" the red haired man looked around fearfully.

Ichigo raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like…. bugs…tch."

"I HATE BUGS!" Mayuri yelled.

They continued through the narrow chambers of the mausoleum until they finally came upon what they were looking for-the legs of Anubis.

"The secret compartment should be here..." Orihime murmured thoughtfully.

Unfortunately, her investigation was cut short by curious sounds coming from around the corner. Ichigo handed the orange red haired woman the torch and pressed her against the wall. He began inching towards the corner, slowly preparing his pistol until…about twenty guns clicked and pointed at each other as Grimmjow's team ran into Ichigo's.

"Geez…" Ganju groaned. "You scared the bejesus out of us, Kurosaki."

"Likewise."

"Hey…" Yumachika began sleepily and thoughtfully, eyeing the satchel in Orihime's grasp, " that's my tool kit!"

"I don't think so," the orange-haired adventurer growled, holding his gun on the blue-haired man.

"H-have a nice day gentlemen." Orihime stuttered, trying to prevent a shoot out. "We have a lot of work to do."

"Push off!" Uryu snapped. "This is our dig site!"

"We got here first."

Once again, guns were held up.

"This is OUR statue friend," Ikakku claimed.

Ichigo's brown-eyes narrowed, "I don't see your name written on it, PAL."

Always one to accentuate his rival's disadvantage, Grimmjow pointed out. "Yes, well…there's only FOUR of you and FIFTEEN of me. Your odds are not so great, Kurosaki."

"I've had worse."

"Yeah, me too!" cried Renji and Ichigo looked at him as if he had two heads.

"Oh, for goodness sake. Lets be nice, children," Orihime exclaimed, stepping between the quarrelling parties. "If we're going to play together, we must learn to share." She looked at her guide, placing a delicate hand on his bicep to calm him. "There are OTHER places to dig."

After finding another dig site, the boys set to work with pickaxes while Orihime read instructions. "According to the hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue. We should come out right between its legs."

Renji huffed, "when those darn jerks go to sleep we'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under their noses."

Swapping tools with Renji, Ichigo inquired, "are you SURE we can find this secret compartment?"

Orihime nodded, "Oh, yes, If those idiots haven't already beaten us to it."

It was then that the orange red haired woman's sibling noticed that one person was missing from their group. "Where'd our smelly little friend go?"

The aforementioned "smelly man" was currently skulking around one of the ancient corridors, searching for treasure. Mayuri gasped in surprise when he spied a carving of an Egyptian on the wall, encrusted with strange shiny navy objects. Using a knife to pry one from the wall, the warden examined it, murmuring, "blue gold…" before whooping in triumph.

In another area of the temple, the opposing team was attempting to force open an ancient chamber.

"Yeah!" Ganju rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Lets get us some treasure!"

"Careful!" Uryu warned before the over-zealous man could strike the stone wall. Byakuya was no fool. I think perhaps we should let the diggers open it, hmm?"

Behind them, the desert workers, none of whom spoke English, were all conversing anxiously among themselves.

Yumichika nodded in agreement. "Oh I think we should listen to Mr. Ishida, Ganju. I feel that not all is as it seems in this chamber."

Ganju shrugged and replied, "yeah, sure, let THEM open it."

The black haired scholar spoke some words in Arabic and motioned the men over. They began prying at the chamber, grunting with efforts as they drove their metal tools into the stone. Finally, the covering fo the compartment fell away…and the diggers were sprayed with acid from the hidden trap. Yumichika, Ganju, Ikakku, and Grimmjow all yelled in horror as the poor men screamed in agony from their horrible chemical burns.

Back at the mummification chamber, the trio of adventurers was currently conversing about mummification.

"So let me get this straight," Ichigo began. "They ripped out your guts and stuffed them in jars…?"

Orihime nodded. 'They'd take out your heart as well. Do you know how they took out your brains?"

"I don't think we need to know this…" muttered Renji, who was currently hitting the various rocks in the chamber with a metal pole, as if they were golf balls.

Ignoring her brother's lack of enthusiasm, the orange red haired woman continued. "They'd take a sharp, red hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about and rip it all out through your nostrils."

"That's gotta hurt," Ichigo winced.

"Its called mummification. You'll be dead when they do this."

The soldier shuddered "If I don't make it out of here, DO NOT put me down for mummification."

"Likewise." Renji smirked, hitting another rock.

The rock hit off the ceiling and sent part of the roof crashing down along with a strange stone casing.

"Oh my God…" Orihime breathed. "It's a…it's a sarcophagus…buried at the base of Anubis. He must have been someone of great importance or…" she met Ichigo's perplexed gaze. "Or he…did something very naughty…"

They began brushing the sand off the front of the casket, trying to reveal the hieroglyphics.

"So, who is this guy?" Renji asked.

"He that shall not be named." Orihime read.

Ichigo blew on a sunken in section of the stone, pushing away the sand revealing a round, jagged indention.

"It looks like some sort of lock."

The red haired adventurer's forehead wrinkled with contemplation as he murmured, "well…whoever's in there sure wasn't getting out…"

"Yeah, no kidding," Ichigo agreed. "It'd take a month to crack this thing open without a key."

"A key…" the brown-eyed beauty's eyes lit up with realization. "A key! A key! That's what he was talking about!"

"Who?"

"That strange man on the ferry! The one who attacked me. He said he was looking for a key."

Orihime rummaged through her bag and pulled out the artifact Renji had previously stolen from Sasuke.

She placed it into the indentation and it fit perfectly into the shape. Grinning in triumph, the young woman was about to turn it when they heard screaming.

Mayuri, rushed into the room, howling in agony, and it appeared that his skin was LITERALLY…crawling. The warden's torment didn't last long, however, as he slammed his head into the stone wall, killing him instantly.

Later that night, the now trio of travelers sat around a campfire, speaking of the late warden.

"What killed him?" Orihime asked.

"Did you ever see him eat?" Renji grimaced.

Just then Ichigo came walking back to the fire saying, "seems that our greedy friends had a little misfortune of their own today. Three of their diggers were, uh…melted."

"WHAT?"

"HOW?"

"Salt acid, pressurized salt acid…some kind of ancient booby trap."

Renji shivered. "Maybe this place really is cursed…"

As if to confirm his suspicions, the desert wind howled ominously.

"Oh, for goodness sake, you two!" Orihime chuckled.

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow. "You don't believe in curses?"

"No I don't. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, its real. THAT'S what I believe."

"I believe in being prepared." The soldier replied, clicking his rifle.

Eager for a chance to snoop, Renji grabbed Mayuri's bag and announced, "lets see what our friend the warden believed in."

He stuck his hand in the satchel, rummaging about until…"OWW!" he yelled in pain and ripped his hand back.

Orihime screamed. "My God what is it?"

"Uhh…broken bottle. Glenlivet. Twelve years old!" the red head grinned and popped the top off the wine. "He may have been a stinky fellow but he had good taste."

Ichigo chuckled…then his brown-eyes narrowed when he heard horses off in the distance. Worried, the soldier stood up and handed his rifle to Orihime, saying, "take this. Stay here." Before striding off.

The girl blinked then scrambled to her feet. "No, wait, wait! Wait for me, wait!"

"Orihime!" Renji groaned, chasing after his little sister. "Didn't the man JUST say stay here? Orihime!"

Unfortunately, "stay there" would have done them no good…as the Maji were rampaging through the camp.

 **A/N: well there is Chapter 3. Sorry that Sasuke is a little out of character in this but I wanted to make him almost like Rick is in the movie. Ok on with Chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Sosuke awakens

The ebony clad men stormed through the camp on horseback, whooping and swinging their torches around.

Not one to partake in violence, Uryu leaped out of bed and rushed to one of the other tents, shouting, "Ganju! Wake up!"

Disoriented, Ganju scrambled out of bed and gasped in shock at the Maji as they began firing their rifles and throwing torches into tents. Yumichika, Ikakku, and Ganju snatched up their pistols and began openly firing at the enemy while Ichigo took a more subtle approach by hiding behind a wall and sniping at the Maji.

Orihime raced around awkwardly carrying Ichigo's shotgun and looking for a target, when one appeared, howling and brandishing a gleaming scabbard, she screamed and fired off a shot, luckily hitting her mark.

Renji was hiding behind a short wall, casually drinking his stolen wine as he waited for a challenger. He fired off a few shots just as Grimmjow came up. The blue-haired man grabbed the bottle and took a swig from it, making the mistake of turning around before he swallowed. There was a Maji rushing towards the duo so Grimmjow spat the liquor right in Renji's face before taking off.

Renjiran frantically, the angry enemies of the desert right on his tail.

"Kurosaki!" he shouted upon seeing the soldier, "help!"

From his perch on the fallen pillar, Ichigo tackled the leader of the Maji, Yoruichi right off her horse and the two rolled around on the ground. The brown-eyed adventurer fired a shot but Yoruichi expertly blocked it with his sword, though the impact knocked the blade out of her grasp.

With his opponent weaponless, Ichigo took the chance to gun down a few more enemies before turning back to their leader unfortunately; Yoruichi had recovered her scabbard and used it to knock the gun from the soldier's hands. Ichigo rolled over to the campfire and pulled out a piece of dynamite, sticking the fuse into the flames before holding it threateningly in Yoruichi's direction.

The leader froze, then called out to her men, "Enough! We will shed no more blood, but you must leave. Leave this place or die. You have one day."

She walked back over to her men, mounting another horse and riding back into the desert.

Ichigo tore the burning fuse off the explosive and turned his gaze to the fallen. Among them he saw…"Orihime!" The soldier rushed to the girls side and was relieved to see that she was not wounded, but rather in shock. He took the gun from Orihime's hands and raised her head to look at him, saying, "are you alright?"

"Yes…I-Im fine," she stuttered, placing her gentle hands on his chest.

Ichigo helped the orange red haired woman to her feet, holding her against him.

"You sure?" he murmured, concern tainting his gorgeous brown eyes as he gently traced her delicate face with his fingers.

Grinning triumphantly among his comrades, Ikakku exclaimed. "That proves it! Byakuya's fortunes gotta be under this sand. That's why they're protecting it!"

Still holding Orihime, Ichigo shook his head, "no, these men are desert people. They value water, not gold."

Yumichika approached the soldier, his face half covered in cream due to his shave being interrupted by the Maji.

"You know maybe just at night we could uh, combine forces hmm?"

The brown-haired man rolled his eyes.

Later that night, Renji snored peacefully while his two comrades practiced their fighting skills-Orihime, being a little goofy as her brother had finally convinced her to try his wine.

"Ok, tough stuff," the soldier grinned, "try a right hook. Ball up your fist and put it up…and then hit it right here like you mean it!"

The orange red haired woman nodded eagerly and hauled back. "I…mean it…eek!"

The girl drove her fist into her companions open hand, tripping and spinning around in the process.

Ichigo laughed and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, gently setting her down and saying, "time for another drink."

The brown-eyed beauty laughed groggily and muttered, "unlike my brother, sir. I know when to say no…" In spite of this statement, the girl grabbed the bottle and took a drink.

"Uh-huh…"Ichigo raised his eyebrows in amusement, "…and unlike your brother, miss, YOU I just don't get."

"Ah…I know. You're wondering…what's a place like me doing in a girl like this?" Orihime jumbled up the words, smiling drunkenly.

Ichigo tried not to laugh. "Yeah…SOMETHING like that…"

"Egypt is in my blood." She reached into her dress and pulled out a locket, "you see, my…my father was a very, very famous explorer and he loved Egypt very much…so he married my mother who was an Egyptian and quite an adventurer herself."

"Hmm," the orange-haired man thought for a moment. "I get your father and I get your mother…and uh…" he glanced at the slumbering Renji. "I get HIM, but…what are you doing here?"

Orihime groaned in frustration and exclaimed, "look, I-I may not be an explorer…" she stood up suddenly and Ichigo placed a hand in the small of her back to keep her from falling over. "…or-or an adventurer, or a treasure seeker, or a gun fighter, Mr. Kurosaki…but I am PROUD of what I am!"

"And…what is that?"

The orange red haired woman grinned confidently and announced. "I…am a librarian."

The corners of the young soldiers mouth curled up slightly as the woman stood on her knees.

"I…am going to kiss you…Mr. Kurosaki," She whispered.

Though he knew she was drunk, Ichigo's heart skipped a beat excitedly at the idea as his eyes wandered to her full pink lips.

"Call me…Ichigo." He murmured leaning closer.

The orange red haired woman smiled, her brown eyes sparkling "…Ichigo."

Orihime leaned closer and closer…until she finally passed out. Her head falling in the soldier's lap.

Amused, and more than a little disappointed Ichigo kissed the air where he head had been before carrying her to bed.

The next morning, Grimmjow's team set back to work on their chamber. With the acid trap disarmed, the remaining workers were able to uncover an ancient box buried in the wall. Intrigued, Uryu knelt down and blew the dust off the top to reveal the hieroglyphics.

"There is a curse upon this chest," he announced.

Ganju smirked, "curse my ass! Who cares?"

"Have a care, Ganju." Uryu snapped. "In this hallowed ground that which is set forth in Ancient times is as strong as it is today."

Juugo rolled his eyes impatiently. "What's it say?"

The scholar read the ancient writing once in Ancient Egyptian, then in English.

"Death…will come on swift wings to whomsoever opens this chest."

At the last word , wind began to blow violently through the chamber, scaring the desert workers into running off.

"We should not be here…" Grimmjow muttered nervously "This is not good."

Uryu continued, "it says, 'there is one, the undead, who if brought back to life is bound by sacred law to consummate this curse. He will kill all who open this chest and assimilate there organs and fluids…and in so doing he will regenerate and no longer be the undead, but a plague upon this earth."

"Well we didn't come all this way for nothing!" Ganju snapped.

Grimmjow, however, stepped backwards, read plain on his features. "It's the curse…it's the curse…it's the curse!" he ran down the hall, screaming. "Beware of the curse! Beware!"

Ikakku rolled his eyes. "Stupid superstitious bastard…"

Then the fates of the four men were sealed when Ganju and Yumichika pulled the top off.

Back in their wing of the dig site, the trio was getting ready to open the sarcophagus.

"Oh, I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl!" Orihime squealed.

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow. "You dream about dead guys?"

The orange red haired woman ignored him and pointed at the lower section of the casket." Look all his sacred spells have been chisled off. This man must have been condemned not only in this life but the next."

The brown-eyed guide muttered "tough break."

"Yeah, im all tears." Renji muttered, grunting as he turned the key in the lock. "Now lets see whose inside shall we?"

The boys pulled on the cover of the sarcophagus until it fell away-and a strangely gooey mummy practically fell out.

All three screamed and Orihime hissed. "Oh my God, I HATE it when these things do that!"

Ichigo grimaced, saying, "Is he…supposed to look like that?"

"No…I've never seen a mummy look like that before," the orange red haired woman replied with perplexity. "He's still…still…"

"Juicy." Both men completed.

"Yes…he must be more than three thousand years old and, well, it looks as if hes still…decomposing."

"Hey…" Ichigo muttered studying the inside of the coffin cover. "What do you make of this?"

There were strange scratch marks inside.

Orihime gasped. "These marks were made with…fingernails. This man was buried alive…and it looks like he left a message." She turned her head to read the crudely drawn hieroglyphics. "Death…is only the beginning…"

They all stared at the corpse, wondering what the man could have possibly done to deserve such a terrible fate.

In the cursed chamber, Uryu was unwrapping a cloth-bound object in the chest. When the cloth fell away, he gasped in shock. "Oh my God…it DOES exist…the Book of the Dead."

"A book?" Ikakku scowled. "Who cares about a book? Where's the treasure?"

The black haired professor lifted the ebony book into his arms, cradling it as if it were an infant. "This, gentlemen…this IS the treasure."

Ganju made a disgusted face and kicked the chest growling. "I wouldn't trade you for a brass-"

The front of the chest fell open to reveal several elegant, gold encrusted jars.

"Look at that!" Yumichika exclaimed, grinning both tiredly and greedily.

"There is your treasure gentlemen." Uryu smiled.

That evening, Orihime emerged from the tomb, heading over to the campfire where the boys were seated. She passed Uryu, who was attempting to open the black book. Upon noticing the familiar indented shape on its cover, the orange red haired woman murmured, "I believe you need a key to open that." Before rejoining the others.

"Say Kurosaki." Ganju taunted, waving his golden jar about. "What do you think these babies will fetch back home?"

Yumichika added, "We heard you guys found yourselves a nice, juicy mummy. Congratulations."

"If you dry that fellow out you might be able to sell him for firewood," Ikakku chuckled.

The orange-haired guide gave a mock laugh right as Orihime came up.

"Look what I found," she announced

Ichigo looked at Grimmjow sitting next to him and muttered, "your in her seat."

The blue haired man showed no intention of moving so the soldier hissed, "Now!"

Wisely, Grimmjow took off as Orihime sat down in his place, presenting her finding.

"Scarab skeletons…flesh eaters. I found them in our friends coffin. They say these things can stay alive for years, feasting on the flesh of a corpse. Unfortunately for our friend, he was still alive when they started eating him."

Fingering the petrified insects, Ichigo murmured. "so somebody threw these in with our guy and they ate him alive?"

"Very slowly."

Renji grimaced, "he certainly wasn't a popular guy when they planted him."

Ichigo grinned and teased, "well, he probably got a little too frisky with the pharaoh's daughter."

Orihime giggled and replied, "Well, according to my readings, our friend suffered the Hom Dai, the worst of the Egyptian curses…one reserved for only the most evil of blasphemers. In my research, I've never heard of this ritual actually being performed."

"That bad huh?"

"Yes, well…they never used it because they feared it so much. It's written that if the victim of the Hom Dai, should ever arise…he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

Once everyone had gone to bed, Orihime snuck over to Uryu who was snoring peacefully, and gently pried the black book from his grasp. She went over to the fire and gently set it down, then went to get the key.

Without opening his eyes Ichigo teasingly muttered, "That's called stealing, you know."

"According to you and my brother, it's called borrowing." The orange red haired woman replied, fingering the ridges on the key to make it open.

The soldier slid over to her and said, "I thought that the Book of Amun-Ra was made of gold."

"It is made out of gold. This isn't the Book of Amun-Ra…this is something else. I think this maybe the Book of the Dead."

Ichigo raised his eyebrows. "The Book of the Dead? Are you sure you want to be playing around with this thing?"

Orihime turned the key. "It's just a book. No harm ever came from reading a book."

She opened the ebony metal covering and the desert wind shrieked in response.

"That happens a lot around here." Ichigo sweat dropped. "So what's it say?"

The orange red haired woman ran her fingers over the hieroglyphics. "Amun-Ra…Amun-Dei…it speaks of the night and of the day." She continued her reading in ancient Egyptian…until Uryu sat up.

"NO!" he screamed. "YOU MUST NOT READ FROM THE BOOK!"

Everyone who had been sleeping awoke to a deep buzzing sound. They stared off into the distance…and beheld a swarm of hundreds…no, millions of locusts.

Ichigo grabbed Orihime's hand and took off with Renji right beside him. "C'mon, go, go!"

The insects soared into the camp, covering everyone and everything from head to toe in locusts. Uryu closed his eyes and muttered, "what…have we done?"

Meanwhile, Ichigo, Renji, Orihime and the others were running into the temple…to a much worse plague…for the mummy had awakened…and was searching for his first victim.

 **A/N: Ok that's the end of Chapter 4! Hope you all are enjoying this story. Please read and review. Now on to Chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Prince Sosuke

Ganju, Yumichika and Ikakku ran frantically through the halls of the temple, desperate to evade the marauding insects outside.

"Where in the name of hell did they come from?" Ganju demanded to know.

"Im not waiting to find out!" Ikakku shot back.

Being the crafty one of the group, Grimmjow thought to himself that if the cure was after them, it would certainly halt in its pursuit…if one of their group were to fall. He was not about to surrender his own life; so instead, he decided to sacrifice one of their comrades.

Muttering a quick, "its nothing personal." Under his breath, the man pulled the rifle off his back and banged the butt of it against the rocky ceiling. Just as Grimmjow thought, the small boulders began to crumble from the roof, and Yumichika, being in the back of the group, was knocked unconscious and abandoned.

After the others had been gone for several minutes, Yumichika awoke and wandered about groggily. He had a pounding migraine, thus making it difficult to see. The black haired man felt along the wall, hoping to help find where his comrades had gone, but felling only cobwebs. Suddenly, a low growl sounded from the end of the tunnel.

"Who's there?" Yumichika panted nervously, pulling out his gun and cursing him temporary blindness.

He heard the growl again and turned around to see a blurry shape of what looked like a man. "…Ganju…?"

The being remained quiet and yet another snarl came from behind the cloud watcher. He whipped back around and saw only the distorted corridor, then turned back to see…nothing. The figure was gone. Then…Yumichika's heart stopped…when he felt someone…something…standing directly behind him. He turned around…and screamed.

In another part of the ruins, Ichigo led Orihime and Renji through the ancient corridors, using a torch as their source of light. Suddenly, the entire chamber shook violently and Orihime cried out, clinging to her brother. The trio watched in horror as the sand in front of them rose up into a mound…then exploded with millions of flesh-eating insects.

"Scarabs!" the orange red haired woman shrieked and the group took off down the tunnel, relentlessly pursued by the ravenous bugs.

Ichigo threw his torch in the midst of the horrid creatures, then began shooting at them with his shotgun. Their path led to a room, which consisted of a large stone road surrounded by a black abyss. The two boys leaped onto a platform in the middle of the chasm while Orihime pressed up against an indention in the wall. She felt the gap…then screamed when it suddenly opened dropping her into another room and closing the trap door behind her.

When the insects passed Ichigo and Renji let out collective sighs of relief… that was immediately replaced by panic when they realized someone, was missing.

"ORIHIME!"

Orihime yelped when she found herself in a room lit by a few bands of silvery moonlight. At first, the orange red haired woman thought she was alone…but a soft moaning in the room told her otherwise. She turned to see…

"Oh, Mr. Ayasegawa ! Thank goodness! I was just starting to get scared that I'd lost everyone, and-"

He turned around and the girl screamed in horror at the gruesome sight…for Ayasegawa…had no eyes…and no tongue it seemed. He fell to the ground moaning in agony, and Orihime whipped around to see…the mummy.

She screamed and backed against a wall while the creature slowly moved towards her, studying her intently, with his newly acquired stolen tongue, he murmured.

"…Tia…?"

Back in the stone bridge chamber, Ichigo frantically drove the butt of his shotgun into the wall that had swallowed Sakura.

He swore and spat. "It's a trap door! There's gotta be a switch or something around here someplace."

Suddenly, Ganju, followed by Grimmjow, Ikakku and a few diggers, came running down the path, shouting, "Run, you morons, Run!"

Ichigo and Renji didn't need to be told twice as another wave of scarabs came flooding into the room, stopping only to devour one of the fallen diggers.

Orihime pressed as hard as she could against the wall, hoping that she would trigger another trap door and escape from the beast that stood before her.

The mummy stretched out his grisly hand and murmured in ancient Egyptian. "Come with me, my princess Tia."

Just then Ichigo burst into the room and ran to Orihime's side, not even noticing the creature.

"There you are! Will you quite playing hide-and-seek?" he grabbed her arm. "Come on, lets get out of here!"

The girl continued to stare ahead, and the soldier turned to see…

"WHOA!"

Renji, then came into the room, calling out to his sister. He, along with Ganju and Ikakku froze, in shock when they beheld the mummy standing before them.

None too pleased by the foolish men's interruption, the creature roared angrily. Ichigo roared right back, shot the beast with his rifle, then high tailed it out of there, his hand firmly grasping Orihime's arm.

"Did you see that?" Ikakku cried as they fled.

Ganju nodded. "It was walking! The freaking mummy was walking!"

The group made it outside…and was met by the Maji, pointing their guns and looking none too pleased. Uryu was among them, squeezing his eye shut in preparation for the end and ironically clutching the Book of the Dead as if it were his lifeline.

Yoruichi stepped forward and growled, "I told you to leave this place or die. You refused. Now…you may have killed us all. For you have unleashed the creature we have feared for more than three thousand years."

"Relax. I got him." Ichigo replied.

The Maji leader scowled. "No mortal weapon can kill this creature. He's not of this world." She then stepped aside as two of his men dragged a moaning Yumichika Ayasegawa forward and placed him before his comrades.

Horrified Ganju wrapped an uncharacteristically gentle arm around the blind mute man's shoulders and supported his head with his forearm while Ikakku knelt down as well.

Looking up with hatred in his gaze, Ganju hissed. "You…what did you do to him?"

"We saved him!" Yoruichi snapped. "We saved him before the creature could finish his work. Leave, all of you, quickly…before he finishes you all." She signaled to her men to retreat and she started on his way as well. "We must now go on the hunt and try to find a way to kill him."

"I already told you." Ichigo growled impatiently. "I got him."

Yoruichi turned around and stared seriously at the young warrior. "Know this. This creature is the bringer of Death. He will never eat…He will never sleep…and he will NEVER stop."

Unbeknownst to everyone else, Grimmjow was still racing frantically around the temple, clutching a gun in one hand and a torch in the other. Wanting to keep an eye on a suspicious looking tunnel he began walking backwards and finally turned around to see the mummy. The blue haired man yelped and dropped his torch, stepping backwards as the creature advanced.

Always one to negotiate, Grimmjow began to dig through his plethora of religious pendants, trying to find out what language the dead being spoke. First he tried English.

"M-may the good Lord protect and watch over me as a Shepard w-watches over his f-flock."

The mummy cocked his head wondering what on earth this spectacled man was trying to do.

Grimmjow proceeded to try Arabic and Chinese…but to no avail. Finally when the spectacled man had his back against the wall and the creature was reaching his gruesome fingers out to him, he pulled out a Star of David pendant and began speaking Hebrew.

The mummy recoiled his hand and responded, "The language of the slaves…I may have use for you. And the rewards…" he presented his new follower with a handful of golden trinkets"…will be great."

Grimmjow's eyes bugged greedily at the treasure, and he slowly met his new masters gaze, murmuring, "my prince…"

Satisfied, the creature held up a broken artifact and demanded, "where are the other sacred jars?"

The next morning, Ichigo, Orihime, Renji and the others all left Hamunaptra and moved to an Inn in Fort Brydan, Cairo. Another one of the plagues had begun to present itself in the form of Sable, rumbling clouds hovering above Egypt.

Holding several of Orihime's outfits, Ichigo stormed through the room, shooing a cat off the suitcase. "I thought you said you didn't believe in that fairy tales and hocus pocus stuff," he said throwing the clothes in the suitcase.

Orihime moved the snowy-furred feline and replied, "h-having an encounter with a three thousand year old walking, talking corpse…" she took her clothes back out of the case. "…Does tend to convert one."

"Forget it," the soldier snapped, grabbing and packing more things. "We're out the door, down the hall and we're gone."

"Oh, no we are not!" She emptied the suitcase.

"Oh, yes we are!" he filled it back up.

Orihime huffed. "Oh, no we are not. We woke him up and we are going to stop him."

"We?" Ichigo shouted. "What we? WE didn't read that book! I told you not to play around with that thing! Didn't I tell you not to play around with that thing?"

The orange red haired woman rolled her eyes. "Yes…me, me, me, I, I, I woke him up and I intend to stop him." She put her books back into place.

"Yeah? How? You heard the man-no mortal weapons can kill this guy!"

"Well, we're just going to have to find some immortal ones."

The soldier muttered, "there goes that 'We' again."

"Will you listen to me?" the girl shot back. "All we have to do-" she slammed the suitcase shut…right on Ichigo's fingers. He howled in pain as she continued. "Once this creature has been reborn his curse is going to spread until the entire earth is destroyed."

"Yeah? Is that MY problem?"

"It's EVERYONES problem!"

Ichigo kneaded his forehead. "Orihime…I appreciate you saving my life and all, but when I signed on, I agreed to take you out there and to bring you back! I HAVE DONE THAT! End of job, end of story, contract terminated!"

Orihime stared at him, a mixture of anger and hurt in her jade green eyes. "That's all I am to you? A contract?"

The orange-haired man felt a pang of guilt. He truly did care for the girl…but he wasn't about to go along with this insane fools errand. "Look…you can either tag along with me…or you can stay here and try to save the world! What's it gonna be?"

"I'm staying!"

The adventurer stared at her for a moment, then stomped towards the door, saying, "Fine."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"…FINE!" he slammed the door.

Orihime scowled…but couldn't help but feel a little sad that she just fought with Ichigo.

Needing a chance to cool down, Ichigo made his way to a local casbah, where he bumped into an old friend.

"…Kisuke."

The blonde-haired, older man followed him as he went to sit by Renji at the bar.

"You know, Kurosaki, ever since the end of the great war, there hasn't been-" he tripped drunkenly over a fountain in the room "-there hasn't been a single challenge worthy of a man like me."

"Yeah?" Ichigo took his seat by his red haired companion. "We all got out little problems today, Kisuke."

The pilot sighed forlornly, his black eyes gazing off into the distance. "I just wish I could have chucked it with the others and gone down in flame and glory instead of sitting around here rotting of boredom and booze…" he took a drink and clapped both guys on the back saying, "well back to the airfield."

Once Kisuke was gone, Ichigo stared at his drink thoughtfully before saying, "tell me…has your sister always been-"

"Oh, yes," Renji replied, guessing the man's next words. "Always."

Ganju approached the bar and grabbed a drink, wearily muttering, "we're all packed up, but the dang boat doesn't leave till tomorrow morning."

"Tail set firmly between your legs, I see…" Renji smirked.

"You can talk…you don't have some sacred walking corpse after ya!"

Ichigo looked at Ikakku and gently inquired, "so…uh, how's your friend?"

The bald headed man's jaw tensed. "…he had his eyes and tongue ripped out. How would you be?"

"I…so…peased oo mee you." Yumichika struggled to say, blindly holding out a hand to the black clad masked man. Grimmjow had just introduced to him as Prince Sosuke.

Grimmjow caught the brown haired man's arm saying, "Prince Sosuke does not like to be touched. A silly Eastern superstition, I'm afraid."

"Pease…orgif…me…" Yumichika recoiled accidentally knocking over a cup of tea in the process.

"Oh…oops," the blue haired man put a falsely caring arm around the cloud watchers shoulders and murmured, "Mr. Ayasegawa…Prince Sosuke thanks you for your hospitality…and for your eyes…and for your tongue." The color drained from Yumichika's mauled face. "…But im afraid more is needed. Prince Sosuke must finish the job and consummate the curse which you and your friends have brought upon yourselves."

And with that, Sosuke removed his mask, preparing to assimilate his first victim.

At the tavern, the boys clinked their glasses together, took a drink…and immediately spat the liquid out, as did everyone else in the bar.

"Sweet holy hell!" Ganju gagged. "Tastes just like…"

"Blood…" Ichigo dropped his glass, staring in shock at the fountain, which now over flowed with crimson liquid.

Renji gaped in awe, quoting, "And the rivers and waters of Egypt ran red…and were as blood."

It was then that the orange-haired man's heart sank and he realized "…he's here."

Ichigo ran outside and was relieved to find Orihime walking and reading a book.

"Oh, Orihime!" he shouted, running up to her. "I'm glad your still here, 'cuz we've got problems."

The "problems" made themselves known when fiery hail began to fall from the sky, striking everyone who was not under the protective awning of the building. Towing Orihime up the stairs, the soldier turned just in time to see Grimmjow running away from him.

"Hey!" he grabbed the man and held him against the wall, "Grimmjow you little bastard, where have you been?"

The interrogation was interrupted by a scream, followed by a loud roar coming from inside the hotel. Grimmjow took the chance to escape while Ichigo and Orihime ran to see what was happening.

Bursting into Yumichika's room, the orange red haired woman gasped in horror when she beheld…what was left of Yumichika Ayasegawa.

Ichigo turned and pointed his gun at the being responsible…that was currently regenerating more of his decayed body by the mantle. Sosuke turned around, revealing that he now had a more developed face as well as muscles and the soldier muttered, "we are in SERIOUS trouble…"

He tried shooting at the creature, but the bullets had no effect. Renji, Ganju and Ikakku came in just in time to see Sosuke shoving Ichigo, sending him crashing into them.

The mummy then turned his attention to Orihime, who cringed in horror and backed herself against the wall.

"You saved me from the undead," he spoke in Egyptian, "I thank you."

Sosuke leaned in, intent on pressing his decayed lips against Orihime's live ones.

Ichigo sat up off the floor…hatred plain in his brown eyes…and was surprised when Sosuke stopped at the sound of the orange red haired woman's cat meowing. He turned, took one look at the hissing feline…and screamed in genuine terror, disappearing into a cloud of sand.

Ichigo, who had been knocked over by the force of the indoor sandstorm, sat up once again and announced, "we are in VERY serious trouble."

Orihime agreed with him, and she knew there was only one person alive who might have a clue as to how to kill this creature. Time to consult Jushiro.

 **A/N: And there my friends is Chaper 5! Sorry about killing off Yumichika. Well please read and review.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Restored

Orihime led Ichigo, Renji, Ganju and Ikakku trough the halls of the Cairo museum, saying, "There's only one person that can give us some answers."

They rounded the corner to the Egyptian chariot exhibit and Sakura froze when she saw…

"YOU!"

The boys pulled out their pistols, pointing them threateningly at the museum owner…and Yoruichi.

"Miss Inoue," Jushiro greeted, "Gentlemen."

"What is SHE doing here?" the orange red haired woman demanded.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?"

Ichigo obediently holstered his gun. "After what I just saw…I'm willing to go on a little faith here."

Jushiro then went on to explain, "We are part of an ancient secret society. For three thousand years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn that manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Sosuke Aizen from being reborn into this world."

"Because of you, we have failed," Yoruichi added solemnly.

Orihime scowled and exclaimed, "You think this justifies the killing of innocent people?"

"To stop this creature? Let me think…YES!"

The girl sighed and began to pace as Ichigo cocked an eyebrow.

"Question: Why doesn't he like cats?"

"Cats are guardians of the underworld," the museum owner replied. "He will fear them until he is fully regenerated. Then…he will fear nothing."

"And do you know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" Ikakku growled.

"By killing everyone who opened that chest," Ganju muttered.

"And sucking them dry that's how!"

"Oh, Renji, will you stop playing with that!" Orihime hissed agitatedly at her brother, who was messing with a bow on the chariot exhibit. She went on to say, "When I saw him alive at Hamunaptra…he called me Tia…and just now at Mr. Atasegawa's quarters he…H-he tried to kiss me.'

Jushiro scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's because of his love for Karin that he was cursed. Apparently after three thousand years-"

"He's STILL in love with her," Yoruichi completed.

"Yes, that is very romantic, but what 's it got to do with me?"

'Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead."

Jushiro nodded. "And it appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice."

Both men looked at Orihime.

The girl's face paled and her brother murmured, "Bad luck, sis…"

"On the contrary, it may give us just the time we need to kill the creature." Jushiro explained.

Yoruichi, who was staring up at the museum skylight, ominously replied, "we will need all the help we can get. His powers are growing."

Everyone looked up…to see the sun being blocked out in the sky.

"And he stretched forth his hand toward the heaven's…" Renji murmured. "…And there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt."

Sitting back in the suite at the Fort Brydon Inn, Orihime announced, "We have to stop him from regenerating. Who opened that chest?"

Ganju tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there was me and Ikakku here…and Ayasegawa of course…and that black haired Egyptologist fellow…"

"What about my little buddy Grimmjow?" Sasuke inquired.

"Nah, he scrammed out of their before we opened the damn thing, he was the smart one."

"That sounds like Grimmjow"

Orihime said, "We must find Mr. Ishida and bring him back to the safety of the fort before the creature can get to him."

The soldier nodded and looked to the three men. "She stays here. You three come with me."

All three began protesting against there orders-the girl wanting to go and the boys wanting to stay.

Irritated, Ichigo walked straight to Orihime and threw her over his shoulder.

"KUROSAKI, WHAT DO YOU THING YOU ARE DOING?" she shrieked, pounding on his back with her small fists. "Renji! Help me, you coward!"

Renji shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, sis, but…he's got a gun."

The orange-haired man brought the orange red haired woman into the bedroom and threw her onto the bed, walking back on the door and locking it behind him.

"KUROSAKI, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME IN HERE!"

Ignoring the angry brown-eyed beauty's shout and threats, Ichigo grabbed Ikakku by the collar and growled, "This door doesn't open. She doesn't come out. NO ONE gets in. Right?"

There was a murderous look in the man's brown eyes and Ikakku squeaked, "R-right."

The soldier looked to Ganju. "Right?"

"Right."

"Renji lets go."

Renji quickly said, "Oh, I thought I could just stay at the fort and, uh, reconnoiter-"

"NOW!" Ichigo hissed.

"R-right. We're just gonna rescue the Egyptologist."

Uryu was currently running through the town, fighting back panic and clutching the Book of the Dead and a canopic jar to his chest. The scholar had a fair excuse to be fearful-for he was being pursued by an ebony cloaked Sosuke.

Back at the hotel room, Grimmjow was knocking over furniture and tearing drawers out of dressers, frantically searching for something.

Kicking in the door and striding into the room, Ichigo exclaimed, "Well, well, well…let me guess…spring cleaning?"

Grimmjow yelped and ran for the open window, but the soldier threw a chair at him, knocking him to the ground.

"Nice shot," Renji grinned as Ichigo grabbed his ex-partner off the floor.

"Oh, Grimmjow, did you fall down? Let me help you…" he slammed the spectacled man into a bookshelf.

Ichigo asked in a falsely sweet tone, "You came back from the desert with a new friend, didn't you, Grimmjow?"

"What friend?" the blue haired man whimpered pathetically. "You are my only friend."

The brown-eyed warrior's anger was ignited once again and he threw his enemy onto the table, snarling, "What are you doing for this creep? What's in it for you?"

"It is better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path," Grimmjow panted. "As ling as I serve him…I am immune."

The mummy's servant was slammed against a pile of boxes.

"Immune from what?"

"I don't wanna tell you…you'll just hurt me some more."

Ichigo's brown-eyes narrowed into slits and he held Grimmjow up so that his face was only inches from the spinning ceiling fan.

"What are you looking for?" he hissed. "And try not to lie to me!"

Grimmjow screamed. "The book! The black book they found at Hamunaptra! He wants it back! He said to me it would be worth its weight in gold."

"What does he want the book for?"

"Oh, come on, I don't know-gahh!"

The spectacled man found his head even closer to the fan blades.

"Something about bringing his dead girlfriend back to life! But that's all. He just wants the book, I swear…just the book I swear…and that girl…but other than that…"

Screaming coming from outside caught their attention. Grimmjow took the chance to punch his captor in the stomach and run to the window, jumping out and escaping in the streets.

Ichigo and Renji rushed to see what was happening. People were backing fearfully away from a cloaked man…who was standing over the dried remains of Uryu Ishida. He bent down, picked up both the black book and a canopic jar, and slowly turned to look up at the men watching him from the window. They say that Sosuke's face, though still mostly rotted, was now covered with a thin layer of pasty skin. He stared at the men for a moment…then his mouth opened wider then humanly possible and a swarm of flies came out.

Ichigo and Renji slammed the shutters closed and looked at each other.

"That's two down and two to go…" Ichigo muttered.

Renji replied worriedly, "And then he'll be going after Orihimr!"

Back at the Inn, Ikakku stared absent-mindedly out the window, lost in his own fearful thoughts. Finally he scowled and shouted, "Forget this! I'm going downstairs to get a drink. You want something?"

Ganju nodded as his friend headed towards the door. "Yeah…get me a glass of bourbon."

"All right."

"And a shot of bourbon."

"Yeah, okay, okay…"

"And a bourbon chaser!"

"I'll get your dang bourbon!"

"Don't worry about the door," Ganju smirked and slammed it shut.

He then turned around and eyed the canopic jar in his chair. The cowboy grinned childishly and flipped his gun around, aiming at the jar as if it were an opponent. As if angered by this act of disrespect, the wind howled in the room and Juugo whipped his pistol out again, creeping towards the open window.

A gust of sand blew into the room, knocking Ganju over, then lifting him into the air. To anyone watching, it would have looked as if the man was sucked dry of everything then tossed aside like a piece of trash.

Stepping into the room Sosuke smiled grossly crunching a scarab as it crawled into the only decayed hole left on his face. He was almost completely restored now with, pale white skin, short black hair, and violet eyes. Smiling in satisfaction, he went to the locked door and transformed his body into sand, sliding easily through the key hole to the other side.

Orihime was fast asleep and Sosuke sat down on the bed gazing down at her beauteous slumbering face.

"…Tia…" the high priest murmured, missing the old sensation of her kiss.

Consequently, Sosuke leaned down, and pressed his mouth against Orihime's, his lips transforming back into rotting ones of the mummy. Waking up, the girl let out a muffled scream…just as her friends burst through the door.

"HEY!" Ichigo roared. "GET YOUR UGLY FACE OFF OF HER!"

Sosuke stood up, eyes narrowed, and spoke something in ancient Egyptian.

The soldier grinned. "Look what I got!" he held up Orihime's cat.

The restored mummy yelped and stepped backwards. None too happy about this strange man, the peeved cat hissed and Sosuke screamed in terror, vanishing into the sandy wind.

Orihime sat up from the side of the bed, her pink hair sticking out in all directions and her green-eyes wide with shock.

"You alright?" Ichigo asked Orihime worriedly.

"Well, Im not sure…" Renji replied, and once again, Ichigo looked at him as if he had two heads.

The trio along with Ikakku hopped into Renji's car and rode to meet Yoruichi and Jushiro back at the museum.

As the group ran up the stairs, Orihime explained, "According to legend, the black book Mr. Hatake and the others found at Hamunaptra is supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now, it was a notion I was unwilling to believe."

Ichigo smirked. "Believe it, sister, that's what brought our buddy back to life."

"I'm thinking that if the black book can bring people back to life-"

"Then maybe the gold book can kill him," the soldier completed.

The orange red haired woman nodded. "That's the myth. Now we just have to find out where the gold book is hidden."

Suddenly, they heard chanting coming from the streets. The group ran to the window to see thousands of men, all chanting Sosuke's name and covered in what looked like…

"Last but not least, my favorite plague-boils and sores," Renji grimaced

"They have become his slaves," Yoruichi muttered. "So it has begun…the beginning of the end…"

"Not quite yet it hasn't," Orihime replied fiercely. "C'mon!"

The young woman ran to one of the museum artifacts, which was covered in hieroglyphics speaking about the two books.

"According to Bembridge scholars," The orange red haired woman began, "The golden book of Amun-Ra is located inside the statue of Anubis."

Renji cocked his head confusedly. "That's where we found the black book."

"Exactly. The Bembridge scholars mixed the books up…mixed up where they were buried. So if the black book is located inside the statue of Anubis, then the golden book must be inside…"

Sosuke's angry followers forced open the museum doors, relentlessly hunting for those who dared defy their master's will.

"C'mon Orihime faster!" Renji pleaded.

Searching the hieroglyphics, the girl replied, "Patience is a virtue."

"Not right now it isn't!" Ichigo exclaimed anxiously eyeing the rampaging men downstairs.

"Uh…think I'll go get the car started," the red head muttered before taking an alternate route out of the museum.

"I've got it!" Orihime grinned. "The golden book of Amun-Ra is located inside the statue of Horus! Take that, Bembridge scholars!"

Outside, Renji raced toward his car and cringed when the mob began rampaging towards him. Getting an idea, he stood ramrod straight and bugged out his eyes, walking stiffly forward and chanting, "Sosuke…Sosuke…Sosuke…"

Sure enough, the brainwashed people believed him to be one of them, and Renji was able to safely get back to his car and start it right as his comrades came running out of the building.

Grimmjow came out just in time to see them jumping into the car and shouted, "Sosuke! Down here, Sosuke!"

Sosuke appeared at the museum window and roared down at them.

"You're gonna get yours, Grimmjow!" Ichigo snarled as the car pulled away. "You here me? You're gonna get yours!"

Grimmjow smirked. "Oh yeah, like I've never heard THAT before!"

The yellow car tore through the narrow streets, easily evading the mob behind them…only to be halted by the mob in front of them.

Ichigo stared at Sosuke's followers for a moment…then slammed on the gas shooting the car forward and knocking into the enemies like bowling pins.

Several boil-covered men clung to the vehicle, but the heroes worked together to shake them off as well as remain in the car. Ikakku, unfortunately, wasn't so lucky. He was seized from behind sent tumbling onto the road, where he leaped to his feet and began shooting. No sooner had his pistols run out of ammunition…than Sosuke appeared before him.

The high priest arched an eyebrow, staring at the terrified man as if to say, "Well?"

Thinking that perhaps his life would be spared if he cooperated, Ikakku shakily presented the creature with the last canopic jar. This was, ironically, the worst thing he could have done-for Sosuke was bound by law to assimilate all who opened the box and stole the jars…so he did just that.

The car crashed into a market stall, rendering it stuck on the curb. Adjusting to the situation, Ichigo lifted Orihime out of the vehicle and told her to run, swinging his torch toward the mob before joining her.

The remaining heroes were trapped, surrounding by Sosuke's followers, and soon, the priest himself appeared.

"It's the creature…" Jushiro breathed. "He is fully restored."

"Keetah mi pharos a ja nilo, isirian," Sosuke spoke.

Grimmjow translated, "Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine…forever."

"For all eternity, idiot," Orihime shot back.

The blue haired man looked slightly perturbed as Sosuke continued, "Koontash dai na a ja nilo."

"Take my hand and I will spare your friends."

"Oh dear…" the orange red haired woman muttered, glancing at her orange-haired companion. "Have you got any bright ideas?"

"Im thinking…"

"You'd better think of something fast," Orihime warned, "Because if he turns me into a mummy YOU'RE the first one im coming after."

Ichigo shot her a look that screamed, 'Really? After all we've been through?'

Seeing no other alternative, the young woman stepped forward and took Sosuke's arm.

"NO!" Ichigo gasped as Yoruichi held him back.

"He still has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual," Orihime assured him.

"She's right. Live today, fight tomorrow."

The soldier glanced at the orange red haired womans pleading, beautiful face, and his heart lurched. With hatred in his brown-eyes and venom in his haunting voice, Ichigo stared at Sosuke and growled, "I'll be seeing YOU again."

The priest smirked and wrapped an arm around Orihime, leading her away while Grimmjow wrenched the key away from Renji.

Once they were a safe distance away Sosuke shouted, "Kill them all!"

The girl screamed and tried to get away from him while Grimmjow shouted, "Goodbye, my friend!"

"Come here you little-" Ichigo raced forward to grab him…but it was no use…for he, Renji, Jushiro and Yoruichi were surrounded by Sosuke's followers…with no way out.

 **A/N: Well that's the end of Chapter 6! I hope you all are enjoying this story as much as im enjoying writing it!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Back to Hamunaptra

The brainwashed mob was closing in tighter and tighter, brandishing their scabbard and torches while chanting Sosuke's name. Taking a quick look at their surroundings, Ichigo spotted the means of their escape and survival-a manhole.

He threw his torch at Sosuke's followers before taking the cover off the manhole and gesturing at Renji to get inside.

"What about my sister?" the red head cried worry and sadness in his black eyes.

The soldier froze for a millisecond. He had seen the expression on Orihime's face as she was being dragged away by the creature, fighting to return to her friends. With more determination than ever, Ichigo looked directly into his companions face and replied, "We're gonna get her back! Now go!"

After Renji jumped in, Ichigo ordered Yoruichi to join him. Lastly, he reached out to Jushiro, who was fighting off the mob, and shouted, "Come on! Give me your hand!"

"You go!" the curator called back.

The soldier shook his head, "Come on!"

"GO!"

Seeing that Jushiro was not to be swayed, Ichigo gave up and joined the others…while Jushiro fought to the death so they could escape.

The trio rode all night to the Cairo airfield, searching for the one man who would be willing to risk his life for a flight-Kisuke Urahara. They found him sitting near his plane, listening to a record player and drinking tea while an Arabic man held an umbrella over his head as a means of shade.

"Morning Kisuke!" greeted. "Uh…a word?"

After explaining their present predicament, the old pilot asked the obvious question, "And what's your little problem got to do with his majesty's royal air corps?"

"Not a damn thing," the soldier truthfully replied.

Kisuke thought for a moment. "…Is it dangerous…?"

"You probably won't live through it."

"YOU REALLY THINK SO?"

Renji shrugged. "Everyone else we've bumped into has died. Why not you?"

The pilot stood up, an excited gleam entering his black eyes. "What's the challenge then?"

Ichigo grinned and replied, "Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy and save the world."

Kisuke laughed heartily and announced, "Kisuke Urahara at your service, sir!"

A few moments later, they were in the air with Kisuke flying the plane, Ichigo in the passenger seat, and the remaining men strapped to each wing.

Ichigo whistled to Renji and shouted over the roaring wind, "Are you alright?"

"DO I FUCKING LOOK ALRIGHT YOU BASTARD!" the red head shot back, fear evident in his wind-blown face.

The soldier then turned to Yoruichi. "How you doing?"

The Maji leader's face was lit up with a grin of pure, childish delight, having never experienced the modern feat of flying.

Suddenly, Kisuke pointed out a large sandstorm brewing in the distance. "See that? I've never seen one so big."

"Never?"

"No…"

Little did they know that the sandstorm wasn't JUST a sandstorm…it was Sosuke's transportation to Hamunaptra.

Upon arriving at the necropolis, Orihime and Grimmjow were flung unceremoniously onto the sand.

"GET OFF ME!" Orihime hissed, smacking and punching the blue haired man lying on top of her legs. "GET…OFF…ME!"

Grimmjow groaned and as Sosuke materialized from the sand, muttered, "I need a new job…"

Glimpsing the ancient ruins, the orange red haired womans heart nearly stopped. "Oh God…we're back…" her chances of being rescued in time had just become slimmer.

In the distance, the trio heard a faint buzzing noise. Looking up at the sky, Orihime's worried frown became a triumphant grin when she saw a small airplane.

"…Kurosaki…"

Sosuke, however, let out an inhumane roar and held his hands out to the desert. The earth cracked and crumbled before rising up into an even larger sandstorm then the previous one.

From the airplane, Ichigo was watching this miraculous feat with shock and muttered, "OH MY GOD…hey Kisuke, pedal faster!"

"Hang on men!" the old man replied and pushed the plane into a steep dive.

Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Renji all screamed, due to both Kisuke's reckless flying and the fact that the sand storm had formed into the likeness of Sosuke's face…but mostly because of Kisuke's flying.

Manning the built-in machine gun, Ichigo yelled while firing a barrage of bullets at the face, which only grinned in response.

The gigantic mouth then opened, swallowing the aircraft in a flurry of sand and wind.

"Stop it!" Orihime cried frantically. "You'll kill them!"

Grimmjow smirked and replied, "That's the idea."

The orange red haired woman pushed the lackey roughly aside and ran to Sosuke. His eyes were closed in peaceful meditation, while a much more different atmosphere surrounded the plane in his clutches.

All three passengers screamed as the craft spiraled uncontrollably…while Kisuke cried out in joy that he was finally going to join his friends.

Seeing no other alternative, Orihime tangled her hands into the high priests shaggy black hair…and forced her mouth against his. Sosuke's eyes flew open in shock…and with his concentration broken, the storm immediately diminished.

The girl pulled away and whooped for joy as the aircraft, though still a little wobbly, stopped its violent spin…only for the engine to catch fire and send it crashing behind a sand dune.

Satisfied, Sosuke strode purposefully by his lackey.

I, uh…" Grimmjow began lamely, "I love the whole sand wall trick. It was beautiful…fuckers."

Although the airplane was in pieces, its inhabitants seemed physically unharmed…though mentally they were a bit shaken.

Yoruichi shakily stood up and tore her flight goggles off while Ichigo literally fell out of his seat.

"Excuse me…" muttered Renji, who was suspended upside down from the wing. "A little help would be useful…IF IT'S NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE YOU BASTARDS!"

"Yeah, yeah, all right," Ichigo replied in a hassled tone.

The soldier cut Renji loose, not caring when he thudded painfully to the ground, then went to check on the pilot while Yoruichi detached the craft's machine gun.

"Kisuke! Hey, Kisuke!"

No answer. Ichigo went to the man…and gasped when he felt no pulse. Sure enough, the pilot hadn't survived the mission…yet his lifeless mouth was curled into a smile of genuine happiness-for he had gotten his wish of going down in a blaze of glory.

The soldier hung his head for a moment…then gasped when the entire demolished aircraft creaked.

"Get back!" Yoruichi warned. "It's quicksand!"

All two men and woman stood a safe distance away, watching solemnly as the desert buried the body of Kisuke Urahara and his airplane.

Ichigo gave a melancholy but respectful salute…then set off on foot with his party, headed for Hamunaptra.

Within the City of the Dead, Sosuke led his prisoner and cohort through the ancient temple. Holding a pistol, Grimmjow roughly shoved Orihime and hissed,

"Move it!"

The girl glared daggers at him. "You know…nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance."

"Heh…they do…?"

"Oh, yes," Orihime's lips curled into a crafty smile. "ALWAYS."

She proceeded onward while Grimmjow jumped at every little noise that could possible signal his "comeuppance".

In another part of the temple, Ichigo and Yoruichi were attempting to clear the caved-in opening to a chamber while Renji stood back, idiotically barking orders.

"I'd move those bigger stones first," the red head exclaimed. "Take them from the top otherwise the whole thing will cave in on us. Come on, put your backs into it!"

Ichigo and Yoruichi turned around and gave the man looks that screamed, 'we are both armed and we will shoot you.'

Renji's face paled. "Yes, well…you get the idea. Let's go."

He looked around the room sheepishly, and then gasped upon seeing strange blue, shiny objects on the wall. The red head detached one and held it in his palm, saying, "Wow…hey, guys, you really should have a look at this…"

Renji's awe…immediately turned to horror when the blue-shelled scarab burrowed into his skin.

"What?" Ichigo demanded.

"It's in my arm! It's in my arm!"

The soldier pulled back his companion's sleeve and gasped when he saw the creature crawling about beneath his skin.

"DO SOMETHING!"

"Hold him," Ichigo ordered pulling out a knife, and Yoruichi obliged.

Renji yelped. "Not that! Not that!"

Unfortunately, "that" was the only way. The man's brown-eyes narrowed in concentration and he flipped over his friend's arm, using the blade to dig the insect from the skin. Once the scarab was out, Ichigo pulled out his gun and expertly shot it…which unfortunately announced to Sosuke that they had arrived.

The high priest poured some sand from a jar into his hand, then blew it onto an Egyptian carving of men on the wall, chanting, "Shatay Wapay Ku Ra Eck!"

A high-pitched groaning filled the room and the men carved into the stone…came to life.

"Bembridge scholars never wrote about this," Orihime breathed, snarling at Grimmjow to "get off" as he fearfully clung to her.

The creatures bowed their heads respectfully and Sosuke smiled and returned the gesture.

"Kill them," he ordered, "and wake the others." The mummies let to fulfill their master's orders.

With the way finally cleared, ichigo threw his torch into the previously blocked room and squeezed inside. Although it was pitch black he caught sight of one of the ancient mirrors Orihime had taught him how to use. Silently thanking the brilliant young woman, the soldier fired off a shot turning the mirror so that its light reflected the others and illuminating the chamber.

All two men and woman drew a breath…when they beheld the treasure room. Levels upon levels of golden statues and piles of jewels and gold trinkets lay in every available area of space, sparkling brightly so that one had to practically squint.

"Wha…" Renji drooled. "Can you see…?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

"Can you believe…?"

"Yeah."

"Can we just…?"

"NO."

Their awe was rudely interrupted when snarling mummies began digging their way out of the earth.

"Who in heavens name are these guys?" Ichigo groaned.

"Priests," Yoruichi replied. "Sosuke's priests."

"All right then." The soldier fired his rifle while the Maji leader manned the machine gun, relentlessly blowing holes in the walking corpse's decayed bodies. Renji grabbed Ichigo's twin pistols and joined in the fight, but the enemies were too great and they were forced to retreat.

Once they were gone, Grimmjow ran into the room, looking around with a confused expression. His confusion immediately turned to greed…when he beheld the treasure.

Orihime awoke groggily to find that she couldn't move her arms. She looked up and saw that her wrists were shackled to an altar…then slowly looked down when she heard a peculiar squeaking noise. The orange red haired woman yelped when she beheld a rat sitting on her chest and turned over to knock it off…only to be met by the mummified corpse of Tia. She screamed.

Running through a narrow chamber lit only by his torch, Renji grinned when he finally glimpsed what they were looking for.

"Hello, Horus, Old boy!" he greeted the statue.

Meanwhile, Ichigo and Yoruichi were doing their best to keep the mummy priests from catching up. The soldier lit a piece of dynamite using Yoruichi's cheek as his rough surface, and announced, "Time to close the door."

He threw the explosive among the marauding creatures, then grabbed Yoruichi and leaped behind the statue of Horus right as the explosion blew their enemies to bits.

Outside the ruins, Grimmjow dragged a bag laden with treasure, grinning as he neared his grand escape. He hooked the bag onto the saddle of a camel, groaning and pulling on the creature while it stubbornly refused to move. Reaching into the bag, the worm grinned and examined a box made of solid gold…then frowned. His covetous nature pried at his black heart as his gaze wandered back to the ruins, desiring…more.

Orihime struggled futiley on the altar while the priests chanted and bowed. Holding the black book, Sosuke stood over Tia's body, gently stroking her cloth-wrapped forehead and murmuring her name. He unlocked the Book of the Dead and slowly turned its ebony pages.

"Kurosaki!" Sakura called frantically. "Renji!"

Ichigo and Renji grunted with effort, straining to open Horus's secret compartment while Yoruichi reloaded her gun.

Glancing at the tunnel, Ichigo swore when he saw the shadows of more priests moving down the corridor. "These guys just don't quit, do they?"

"Keep digging!" Yoruichi replied, clicking her gun and advancing towards the tunnel.

Finally, the other two men pulled out a drawer-within it laid a book made of pure gold.

"Oh," Renji gasped. "The Book of Amun-Ra."

The Maji leader turned to gaze at Ichigo and Renji.

"Save the girl," She ordered. "Kill the creature."

She then let out a battle cry and rushed into the throng of mummies, fighting with every last ounce of her strength.

Ichigo lit another explosive…and hesitated when he saw his friend struggling among the plethora of enemies.

"What are you waiting for!" Yoruichi cried as the creatures dragged her backwards. "Get out! Get out!"

The soldier threw Renji aside and threw the dynamite, jumping out of the way as it blew a hole in the wall. The two jumped to their feet and raced through the new opening, bound for the ritual room.

Orihime's eyes widened when a humanoid spirit shape rose from the black tar, slowly flowing over to the corpse next to her. As soon as it made contact, the female mummy began shrieking shrilly and slowly turned to look at the girl next to her.

The orange red haired screamed and turned her gaze to the high priest. He stood over her and yelled, "With your death, Tia shall live! And I shall be invincible!"

Orihime's screams increased in volume…as Sosuke slowly raised a golden dagger above his head.

 **A/N: Well there is Chapter 7! This is the longest story I have ever written. I am going to write the Second one but I need some help:**

 **Who should be Ichigo and Orihime's kid?**

 **I also need some ideas for the other characters? Any ideas would be concidered thank you!**

 **Let me know**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Final Battle

Orihime screamed in horror as Sosuke raised the golden dagger above his head…but the stab never came. Renji, who was standing at the top of the staircase shouting, caught the high priests attention.

"The Book of Amun-Ra! I found it, Orihime, I found it!"

Sosuke drew a breath, lowering his sword. "The Book of Amun-Ra…" he muttered in ancient Egyptian.

Struggling against the shackles, Orihime moaned in frustration and snapped, "Shut up and get me out of here, Renji! Open the book! It's the only way to kill him! You have to open the book and find the inscription!"

Renji 'eeped' as Sosuke began to slowly approach him.

"W-well…I cant open it! It's locked or something!" he examined it from all angles and announced, "We need the key, Orihime!"

"It's inside his robes."

"Oh that's just fucking peachy," the red head muttered, taking off as Sosuke drew closer.

Suddenly, Ichigo let out a battle cry and leaped over the mummy priests surrounding Orihime.

"Kurosaki!" the girl exclaimed joyfully as he sliced through one of the shackles binding her arms.

Seeing that his sacrifice was on the verge of escaping, the high priest commanded, "Im Yub Set Na," and even more priests sprung from the earth, assaulting Ichigo.

The soldier fought bravely and skillfully with the sword, slicing through the marauding creatures. Finally, he rested the blade on his shoulder, cockily arching an eyebrow at Orihime and muttering, "Mummies…"

Unfortunately, just as Ichigo was about to break the last of the orange red haired woman's binds, he was unceremoniously yanked off his feet and his legs were held down by one mummy while another clung to his shoulders.

"Look out! There's one down-" Orihime gasped. "Kurosaki!"

Ichigo looked to see a creature stalking towards him, carrying an extremely heavy tombstone and intent on crushing him beneath it. The orange-haired man strained to reach for his sword…but his arm simply would not make it.

Frantically, the soldier glanced around and spotted a severed corpse hand crawling toward the blade. Right as the tombstone-bearing mummy was about to drop its load on its victim, the hand grabbed the swords hilt…and Ichigo seized the hand, swinging it and the blade slicing his potential killers legs off. The creature fell to the ground…and was crushed by his own stone.

While this madness ensued at one end of the chamber, Renji was wandering about at the other, desperately scanning the Book of Amun-Ra.

"Here's an inscription," he announced. "Rasheem-Rasheem oola-Rasheem oola Kashka!"

As Ichigo helped Orihime off the altar, they both froze at the sound of a low growl. Several rows of mummies with shields and curved spears came marching out of their caskets; standing at attention while Sosuke gave a smile of amusement.

"Oh yea…" Ichigo grumbled, "This just keeps getting better and better."

"Do something Renji," Sakura grimaced.

"ME?"

"You can command them!"

"You've got to be joking!"

"Finish the inscription on the cover idiot then you can control them!"

"Right…"

Renji hid behind a wall to read the hieroglyphics while Ichigo faced the new-armed mummies…and a sword-bearing Tia Corpse suddenly attacked Orihime.

Sosuke shouted something to the mummies and they leaped farther than humanely possible towards their target. Ichigo let out the fiercest battle cry he could muster…only to be met with several roars from the enemy.

He stared at them for a moment, then muttered, "Uh-uh…" before taking off.

Orihime ran frantically through the chamber, trying to escape the wrath of Tia and shouting, "HURRY UP RENJI!"

Meanwhile, Ichigo sliced through a rope, causing a heavy weight to crush one of his pursuers and launching him to a higher level. He ran into a corridor…and ran right back out, pursued by even more mummies.

"I cant figure out this last symbol!" Renji shouted.

"What does it look like?" his sister called back, screaming as the female mummy appeared and grabbed her neck.

"It's, uh, a bird-a stork!"

Orihhime gagged as Tia clutched her throat, holding the she-corpses other hand, which was attempting to drive a sword into her.

"A-Ahmenophus!"

Renji looked back at the inscription and grinned thoughtfully, murmuring, "Oh, yes, I see…"

Ichigo dropped his sword and fell down a set of stairs, crawling backwards as the creatures marched towards him.

"Uh…Hootash im Ahmenophus!" Renji ordered.

The mummies brought their weapons down…and stopped right as the blades touched the soldier's face. He opened a single brown-eye, studying the creatures confusedly as they recoiled and stood back at attention.

"Destroy him!" Sosuke snarled, watching Ichigo run to safety. "I command you to destroy him!" but the creatures…no longer obeyed him.

Renji continued, "Fa-kooshka Tia!"

At this order, the mummies marched towards the female mummy, who finally released Orihime and stared at them in shock. Running away, the orange red haired woman heard the terrified shrieks of Tia as the mummy army began to attack her brutally.

"Tia!" Sosuke cried and rushed to the red headed man, snarling, "Give me that book!"

Unfortunately, it was too late…and the temporary life given to the woman's corpse was ruthlessly taken away.

The high priest's jaw locked with anger and he strode towards the man who had brought about his lover's second death.

"Now…you die," he growled, holding Renji in the air by his throat.

Ichigo leaped forward with his blade and sliced off the creature's arm, dropping Renji to the ground. Sosuke, unfortunately, only seemed annoyed by this, throwing the soldier with superhuman strength and twisting his severed limb back on.

In his close encounter with the priest, Renji had managed to do ONE useful thing. Triumphantly, he held up the key as Orihime ran forward to unlock the golden book.

"Keep him busy!" the girl shouted to Ichigo, who was currently being thrown through the air.

He hit a wall and landed on the ground groaning, "No…problem…"

While Sosuke was ruthlessly beating up Ichigo, Renji muttered, "Hurry Orihime, hurry!"

"Your not helping!"

Ichigo gagged, suspended in the air by his neck and staring down into the priest's cold eyes.

"Now…it's your turn…" Sosuke stretched his mouth wide open to unleash…who knows what.

"I've got it!" Orihime cried. "Kadeesh mal, Kadeesh mal." The priest stared at her in shock. "Pared oos, pared oos!"

Sosuke dropped the soldier and gaped in horror when a ghostly chariot came thundering down the staircase. It passed through his body, taking with it a ghostly image of the priest himself. Shouting angrily as the carriage disappeared, Sosuke turned and stalked towards the heroes with murderous intent.

"I thought you said it was going to kill him," Ichigo croaked, clutching at his aching throat and retrieving his sword.

Sosuke stalked towards them, and, knowing it would do no good, the orange-haired adventurer drove his blade into the creature's stomach. To his shock, Sosuke let out a strangled sound of pain and shock, staring down…and glimpsing blood.

"He's mortal now," Orihime exclaimed and Ichigo ripped the sword out.

Groaning and clutching his wound, the priest staggered back and into the black water. Slowly, Sosuke sank down into the depths, reverting back to his mummy form…until he was altogether gone.

"Death…" Orihime murmured, "…is only the beginning…"

Grimmjow grunted with exhaustion under his heavy load of treasure, attempting to maneuver back out of the temple. Sure enough, his greed had gotten the best of him and he had gone back for a ridiculously large amount of gold. Fatigued, the man laid the bag on a ledge protruding from the wall…only to discover that it was a lever…a lever that ordered the city to close itself off.

All around the trio, the walls and ceiling began to sink. They took off and as they ran Renji tripped, dropping the Book of Amun-Ra into the ebony water.

Running back to it, Orihime cried, "You've lost the book! Renji, I can't believe-"

"COME ON!" both boys grabbed her and dragged her away.

They ran through the treasure room and Renji halted, gazing around in awe.

"Couldn't we just-"

"NO, RENJI!"

They ran up stairs and into a tunnel while Grimmjow, who had been forced to abandon his loot, called out to them, "Kurosaki!"

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, Grimmjow!" Ichigo shouted crouching and holding out his hand as the tunnel ceiling grew lower and lower and lower…but it was too late. The tunnel closed, leaving his ex-partner trapped on the other side.

"…Goodbye, Grimmjow."

In the end, Grimmjow lived his last few minutes of life, surrounded by treasure, just as he'd wished…but he was also surrounded by hungry scarabs.

The three heroes ran as fast as they could outside the ruins, dodging falling pillars and swaying obelisks as the city immersed itself back into the sand. Fortunately, they made it to their camels several yards outside the necropolis and watched in awe as the legendary City of Hamunaptra…once again lost itself in the desert.

Suddenly, Renji screamed in horror when a hand grabbed his shoulder and looked up to see…Yoruichi, sitting on a camel.

"OH THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT! I think you just lowered my life expectancy by about fifteen years…"

Yoruichi smiled. "You've earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people."

"Yeah…it was nothing."

With one last grin, the Maji leader turned and rode off.

"Yeah, anytime," the red head called. "Stay out of trouble…She's just…leaving us here." He sighed and chuckled bitterly. "Well…I guess we go home empty handed…again…"

"I wouldn't say that…" the orange-haired adventurer replied, locking eyes with Orihime.

"Oh please…" Renji rolled his eyes.

Ichigo dipped down and captured Orihime's soft lips in his hungry ones, kissing her passionately and gently stroking her bare shoulder. When the two finally broke apart, they pressed their foreheads together and grinned, the orange red haired womans brown eyes sparkling happily, and the soldier's brown orbs glittering in return.

Renji walked over and petted his dromedary's head, asking, "What about you, darling, would you like a little kissy-wissy?" he gagged at the creatures putrid breath.

Climbing onto his camel, Ichigo deposited Orihime into his lap, snaking an arm around her waist as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed the girl again, smiling as they rode off into the sunset…and completely unaware of the satchel of treasure Grimmjow had left attached to his camel's saddle.

 **A/N: The end! I really hope that you all enjoyed this story.**


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